Clinical trial NCT04309188: Stroboscopic Vision Training in Softball
Official title: Effect of Stroboscopic Vision Training in a Softball Season: A Randomized Controlled Trial Pilot Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Sports Performance
Vision, Ocular
Keywords: Stroboscopic
Vision Training
Softball
On-field performance
Lead sponsor: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2020-03-16
Enrollment: 34
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 14
Maximum age (years): 18
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: The pilot study will use a pre-test post-test randomized controlled trial.
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Enhanced sports performance, in our current world, is being pushed at the professional level and down to school-age children as well. Money is being spent on lessons and equipment to enhance performance. One new method to enhance performance is stroboscopic vision goggles. The glasses lenses flicker removing visual information for a brief moment. The claim is that they train connections between the eyes, brain, and body. We want to see if this product truly does enhance visual performance during a softball season for high school girls.

Detailed description: In today's sports world, every strategy to perform at the highest level is needed. Current literature is demonstrating enhanced sports performance using stroboscopic vision training.1,2,5 The objective of this randomized controlled trial is to measure the effect of a stroboscopic visual training in a high school softball season in comparison to controls. Athletes in the control group will go through normal practice drills for hitting and fielding. The stroboscopic training (experimental group) will use the strobe glasses during hitting and fielding drills two times a week in practice. The brand of strobe glasses is Senaptec Strobe. Athletes in both the experimental and control groups will have their vision assessed at the beginning of the season and end by The West Texas Vision Center. Measurements for vision will include developmental eye movement, vergence ranges, Randot stereopsis test, accommodative ranges, acuity, and stereo scores. On-field performance measurements will be collected for batting statistics including on-base percentage, batting average, slugging percentage, and hard-hit ball percentage in both the experimental and control groups. The current year batting statistics will be compared with the prior year statistics if enough at-bats occurred. In addition, to the vision and on-field hitting performance proprioception balance using the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) will be measured at the beginning of the season and end for both groups. Our data will provide quantified information for coaches, athletes, and health care providers concerning the benefits of the strobe glasses warrant buying to enhance sports performance. Additionally, we wish to determine whether visual-motor and proprioception balance changes occur after the training.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 1) Age 14-18 years 2) females; 3) high school softball

Exclusion Criteria:

* 1) Prior use of stroboscopic vision training; 2) History of seizures; 3) History of vestibular impairments

Primary outcomes:
measure: Vergence ranges
timeFrame: 8 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Developmental eye movement
timeFrame: 8 weeks
measure: Randot stereopsis test
timeFrame: 8 weeks
measure: Accommodative ranges
timeFrame: 8 weeks
measure: Acuity
timeFrame: 8 weeks
measure: Stereo Scores
timeFrame: 8 weeks
measure: Batting statistics
timeFrame: 8 weeks
measure: Balance Error Scoring System (BESS)
timeFrame: 8 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Lubbock
country: United States
facility: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
state: Texas
Study officials:
References:
citation: Appelbaum LG, Cain MS, Schroeder JE, Darling EF, Mitroff SR. Stroboscopic visual training improves information encoding in short-term memory. Atten Percept Psychophys. 2012 Nov;74(8):1681-91. doi: 10.3758/s13414-012-0344-6.
citation: Ballester R, Huertas F, Uji M, Bennett SJ. Stroboscopic vision and sustained attention during coincidence-anticipation. Sci Rep. 2017 Dec 20;7(1):17898. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18092-5.
citation: Mitroff SR, Friesen P, Bennett D, Yoo H, Reichow AW. Enhancing ice hockey: Skills through stroboscopic visual training: A Pilot Study. Athl Train Sports Health Care. 2013;5(6):261-264
citation: Wilkins L, Nelson C, Tweddle S. Stroboscopic visual training: A pilot study with three elite youth football goalkeepers. J Cogn Enhanc. 2018;2:3-11.
citation: Hays JB, Korba BE. DNA from recombinogenic lambda bacteriophages generated by arl mutant of Escherichia coli is cleaved by single-strand-specific endonuclease S1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Dec;76(12):6066-70. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.12.6066.
citation: Grooms DR, Chaudhari A, Page SJ, Nichols-Larsen DS, Onate JA. Visual-Motor Control of Drop Landing After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. J Athl Train. 2018 May;53(5):486-496. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-178-16. Epub 2018 May 11.