Reliability of Algometry in Swimming Athletes

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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In the competitive swimming scenario, there is a significant incidence of pain, which can be justified by the high levels of training that exposes athletes to constant stress. In this way, the quantification of pain and its monitoring becomes extremely important for clinical practice. A commonly used tool with easy access and clinical applicability, capable of measuring the pain threshold (PT) in a standardized manner is the pressure algometer. However, there is a shortage in the literature of studies that evaluate the reliability of this instrument in healthy swimming athletes. Objectives: Evaluate the intra and inter-examiner reliability and to describe the profile of the PT measurements measured by the algometer in swimming athletes. Methods: It is a reliability study, and will be composed of fifty young athletes members of swimming teams, of both genders, aged between 12 and 20 years. The evaluation will be carried out on the same day and in 2 steps: (1) Test and (2) Retest. In the first step, through a third examiner, the participants will be subjected to marking of points in pre-determined muscles and in points of referred pain. Next, they will perform the PT assessment through the algometer by two other distinct and trained examiners. The interval between each examiner will be five minutes with the participant at rest. After five minutes the test was performed, the step retest will begin, which will have the same procedures as in the previous step. The statistical package SPSS Statistics 23.0 will be used to conduct the analyzes.

Official Title
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Reliability of Algometry as a Clinical Value in Swimming Athletes

Conditions
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Athletes

Intervention / Treatment
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* Device: Algometry


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy swimming athletes Exclusion Criteria: Being an alcoholic and/or consuming drugs and/or smoking; Anti-inflammatory and / or analgesic drugs less than 24 hours before the test; Presenting anemia, inflammatory process, diabetes, cardiovascular disease; Episodes of muscle-tendon or osteoarticular injury in the lower, upper and / or lower limbs spine in the last three months; In addition to swimming for less than two years.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 12 Years
Maximum Age: 20 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Algometry<br>In the test stage, pain threshold evaluations were started through the algometer in a randomized manner by two different examiners trained and experienced in the application of the test, following the same order of evaluation of the muscles (middle deltoid, upper trapezius, pectoralis major, biceps brachii , triceps, lumbar multifidus, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior and soleus, bilaterally), with an interval between each assessment of five minutes in which the participants remained at rest. After the interval described, the retest stage was initiated, which had the same procedures as the test stage. | Device: Algometry<br>* The evaluation with the algometer was carried out in the same way by the two examiners, who held the instrument with the dominant hand, in order to adjust and coordinate the movements, while the non-dominant hand was used to stabilize the participant's skin, providing more security, avoiding thus small deviations. The pressure was applied at an angle of 90 ° (between the tool surface and the evaluated point), the rate of pressure increase was approximately 2 kg / cm² / s (kilogram per centimeter squared per second), up to the level that the participant reported a change in the sensation of pressure to a sensation of discomfort and immediately the examiner removed the device from the positioned location.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pain threshold | Portable hand pressure algometer (FPX 50/220, Wagner Instruments, Greenwich, USA), measured in kg / cm² (kilogram per centimeter squared). | two hours |