ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT06053229Updated Aug 13, 2024

Effect of Percussive Massage on Skeletal Muscle During Limb Immobilization

An interventional study of percussive massage and Leg Immobilization in Massage Therapy and Muscular Atrophy, sponsored by Brigham Young University. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 50 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-08-13.

Sponsored by Brigham Young University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Dec 2024, 1 year 10 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Registered 6 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Mar 2023, registered Sep 2023).
  • Started Mar 2023; still recruiting 3 years 8 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
36
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 50 Years
Sex
All
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-12

Among 115 studies in Muscular Atrophy with a site in United States — 15 open to participants now, 26 under way, 2 of them phase 3. Muscular Atrophy · United States.

Planned enrollment
56th of 105
36 · median 40
Started
2023
with 9 others
No phase
57 of 115
8 open now
Primary completion
2024-12
later than 2 of 25 live
Registered
98th of 115
by date

Among the 115 studies in Muscular Atrophy with a site in United States, this one is the 56th largest by planned enrollment of the 105 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 10 that started in 2023, is one of 57 with no phase, reaches primary completion later than 2 of the 25 other live ones, and was the 98th registered.

Muscular Atrophy

412 studies on the registry are indexed under Muscular Atrophy; 77 are open to participants now.

Browse Muscular Atrophy studies →

Open to participants now

15 of the 115 studies in Muscular Atrophy with a site in United States are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:

9 more — sign in →

All 15 open studies →

A study can be open while its sites in United States have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in United States →

Who these studies take

Of the 51 Muscular Atrophy studies recruiting now, 24 (47%) set no upper age limit and 13 (25%) stop at 75 or younger; 4 take children under 18; 17 take healthy volunteers.

This study: 18 Years to 50 Years · all sexes · healthy volunteers too.

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02

Study summary

The primary aims of this study are to determine the effect of percussive massage (30 min/session, 2 sessions/day, daily) during 10 days of unilateral limb immobilization on preserving muscle, vascular, and mitochondrial function. The following hypotheses will be tested:

Hypothesis 1: Percussive massage will attenuate the loss of size, strength and endurance over the immobilization period compared to the control group, as measured by MRI, maximal isometric and isokinetic force production and muscle endurance test using Biodex dynamometry.

Hypothesis 2: Percussive massage will attenuate the loss of vascular function and blood flow compared to the control group as measured by passive leg movement and femoral artery blood flow.

Hypothesis 3: Percussive massage will attenuate the loss of skeletal muscle mitochondrial function and decrease H2O2 production during immobilization compared to the control group, as measured by high-resolution respirometry.

Read the detailed description

Phase 1. Pre-measures: Pre-measures will occur over the course of 2 days.

Visit 1:

MRI scan: Participants will report to the MRI facility and fill out an MRI safety screening form. Upon completion, a 3-Tesla magnet will be used to image their left thigh (for more detail on MRI protocol see section 7.4 below).

Visit 2:

Blood flow and vascular function measurement: Upon arrival, participants will rest on a chair for 15 minutes with their left leg resting on a rolling desktop to stabilize their heart rate and blood flow. Blood flow will be measured with Doppler Ultrasound at the Common Femoral Artery while the subjects rest and while their leg is passively moved through a 90° range of motion. This test will be repeated 3 times to determine the dilatory function of the resistance arteries of the leg.

Muscle biopsy: After completing the vascular function measurement, subjects will lie down on a treatment table. Their left thigh will be prepped, cleaned, numbed with lidocaine, and biopsied.

Muscle strength and endurance measurement: Subjects will be seated in a chair with their leg bent to 90° (hanging straight down) and ankle fastened in a custom brace that is attached to a strain gauge. Subjects will be asked to kick against the immovable brace multiple times at moderate intensities. They will then be asked to kick as hard as they can to determine their maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Then they will kick at 40-45% of their MVC until the generated force drops below 40% of MVC.

Providing a knee brace and crutches: In this study, the subjects' left leg will undergo immobilization using an aluminum frame knee brace. Trained lab personnel will instruct the subjects on how to properly apply and remove the knee brace. Crutches will be provided so that they can get around while staying off the assigned leg. The subjects will be instructed on how to properly use the crutches. We will confirm their ability to use the crutches properly and practice going up and downstairs in order to increase their familiarity with the demands of using crutches. They will also need to fill out an activity assessment questionnaire during each lab visit and at home during the next 7 days of recovery after the biopsy.

Phase 2. Immobilization

The subjects are asked to apply the knee brace and start using crutches from the morning of the day they come for their 3rd visit. The immobilization period will last 10 days. The brace should be worn at all times throughout the day, but can be taken off at night during sleep. During each visit to the lab, the subjects will fill out the food log and activity assessment questionnaire.

Visit 3: Subjects will lie down on a treatment table, with their knee brace removed for 15 minutes to stabilize their heart rate and blood flow. Then their baseline blood flow will be measured with a doppler ultrasound at the common femoral artery. The subjects in the massage group will receive percussive massage on their thigh for 30 minutes and the subjects in the control group will lie down on the bed without receiving any treatment (the subjects are randomized into massage or control groups after they enroll in the study). Every 5 minutes, the percussive massage stops, and blood flow will be measured. There will be a total of 7 blood flow measurements (each for 30 seconds) during this visit.

Visit 4-20: The subjects will report to the lab twice a day to receive percussive massage (massage group) or lie on the bed (control group) for 30 minutes. In order to monitor the level of pressure the subjects received during the percussive massage, a pressure perception chart will be used. Based on the subject's feedback throughout the training session, the investigators will be able to keep the pressure at a moderate level

Visit 21: same as visit 3

Phase 3. Post-measures: Post-measures will occur in 1 day.

Visit 22: 24 hours after their 21st visit, the subjects will return the knee brace and crutches. Then they will undergo an MRI scan, vascular function measurement, biopsy, and muscle strength and endurance tests. All tests will be the same as pre-measures.

03

Conditions studied

  • Massage Therapy
  • Muscular Atrophy

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Keywords

  • Massage
  • immobilization
04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 50 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • 18-50 years old (women are pre-menopausal). We will exclude individuals over the age of 50 because the adaptive capability of skeletal muscle fundamentally changes with older age, and the risk from disuse increases. The findings of this study will help determine the risk benefit relationship of conducting a similar study in older individuals.
  • Stable levels of physical activity for at least 6 months
  • No history of lower extremity injury that would preclude their ability to perform knee extension exercise

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Cigarette or marijuana smoker
  • Pregnant or planning to become pregnant within next month
  • Cardiovascular, metabolic disease or cognitive disease (e.g. Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment)
  • Taking prescribed medications (e.g. blood pressure medication) or anti-depressants
  • Habitual use of any type of massage or vibration on their thigh
  • Note that subjects who are mentally unable to understand the consenting process and provide will not be included in this study.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
36 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Massage

    Subjects will receive a daily 30 minute percussive massage treatment on the knee extensor muscles twice per day during the 10 day immobilization period

    Device: percussive massage · Combination Product: Leg Immobilization

  • Sham comparator
    Control

    This group will lie on the bed for a total of 30 minutes, but receive no massage

    Combination Product: Leg Immobilization

Interventions

  • Devicepercussive massage

    30 minutes of percussive massage will be administered twice per day during the 10 day immobilization period using a percussive massage device

  • Combination productLeg Immobilization

    All subjects will have their left leg immobilized using an immobilization brace for 10 days

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. knee extensor muscle strength

    Assessed by dynamometry

    Time frame: Immediately before the onset of leg immobilization and after 10 days of leg immobilization

  2. Vastus lateralis cross-sectional area

    Assessed by MRI

    Time frame: Immediately before the onset of leg immobilization and after 10 days of leg immobilization

  3. Skeletal muscle mitochondrial function

    Assessed in muscle biopsies using in vivo respirometry

    Time frame: Immediately before the onset of leg immobilization and after 10 days of leg immobilization

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Mar 2023 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2024, 21 months after the start.

Of 168 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Muscular Atrophy, half reached primary completion within 22 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 41. This study's planned 21 months is close to that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 174 studies reached it within 22 months; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 37.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 15, 2023
First posted
Sep 25, 2023
StartActual
Mar 1, 2023
Primary completionEst.
Dec 31, 2024
CompletionEst.
Jul 31, 2025
Last update
Aug 13, 2024
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 13, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06053229
Lead sponsor
Brigham Young University
Responsible party
Rob Hyldahl (Associate Professor, Brigham Young University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 25, 2023
Start date
Mar 1, 2023
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2024 (estimated)
Completion
Jul 31, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 13, 2024

Study contacts

Robert D Hyldahl, PhD
Contact
robhyldahl@byu.edu
8014221237
Ty Hopkins, PhD
Contact
8014221573
Robert D Hyldahl, PhD
principal investigator · Brigham Young University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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