An interventional study of Plyometric Training in Flatfoot, Flexible, sponsored by Faculty of Medicine, Sousse. Completed at 1 site in Tunisia. Open to male participants aged 9 Years to 12 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-10.
Sponsored by Faculty of Medicine, Sousse · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The purpose of this study is to investigate how the order of exercises in a training program affects foot mechanics and physical performance in children with flexible flatfoot. Flexible flatfoot is common in children and can affect how weight is distributed on the foot, balance, and athletic abilities. While both foot-strengthening exercises and jump training (plyometrics) are helpful, it is not known which one should be done first to get the best results.
In this study, thirty-six young male football players with flexible flatfoot were divided into three groups. The first group performed jump training followed by foot muscle strengthening. The second group did the foot muscle strengthening first, followed by jump training. The third group served as a control group and did not change their usual training. The researchers measured changes in foot pressure, balance, jumping height, muscle force, and sprint speed before and after the training to find out which exercise order is most effective for improving athletic performance and foot loading.
This study evaluates the impact of exercise sequencing within a combined training program for young athletes with flexible flatfoot. Participants are block-randomized into three distinct parallel arms to compare different training structures over the intervention period:
All participants undergo a comprehensive testing battery at baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately following the completion of the training protocol (post-intervention). The assessments include static and dynamic baropodometric analyses to measure peak plantar pressure, postural tracking to evaluate balance, countermovement jump (CMJ) tests for neuromuscular mechanics, eccentric rate of force development (RFD) evaluations, and 20-meter timed sprints to quantify locomotor performance.
173 studies on the registry are indexed under Flatfoot; 44 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 36 is close to the median of 40 across 122 interventional studies indexed under Flatfoot.
Browse Flatfoot studies →Faculty of Medicine, Sousse is the lead sponsor of 23 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
Exclusion Criteria:
Pediatric football players with flexible flatfoot who undergo a combined training program consisting of 4 weeks of plyometric training (Phase 1) followed by 4 weeks of intrinsic foot muscle strengthening (Phase 2), performed 3 times per week for a total of 8 weeks.
Behavioral: Plyometric Training
A separate group of pediatric football players with flexible flatfoot who undergo the inverse sequence: 4 weeks of intrinsic foot muscle strengthening (Phase 1) followed by 4 weeks of plyometric training (Phase 2), performed 3 times per week for a total of 8 weeks.
Behavioral: Plyometric Training
A third separate group of pediatric football players with flexible flatfoot who maintain their habitual football training schedule without participating in any specific plyometric or foot muscle strengthening protocols during the 8-week study period.
Jump and plyometric exercises performed 3 times per week for a total duration of 4 weeks. This intervention is implemented during Phase 1 for Group P1-R2 and during Phase 2 for Group R1-P2.
Peak Plantar Pressure
Static and dynamic peak plantar pressure assessed using baropodometric analysis to evaluate changes in plantar loading.
Time frame: Baseline (before the intervention) and post-intervention (after 8 weeks of training).
Postural Balance Tracking
Postural stability tracking parameters evaluated under static and dynamic conditions.
Time frame: Baseline (before the intervention) and post-intervention (after 8 weeks of training).
Countermovement Jump (CMJ) Height
Vertical jump performance measured in centimeters using countermovement jump mechanics.
Time frame: Baseline (before the intervention) and post-intervention (after 8 weeks of training).
Eccentric Rate of Force Development (RFD)
Neuromuscular force production capacity during the eccentric phase of movement.
Time frame: Baseline (before the intervention) and post-intervention (after 8 weeks of training).
20-Meter Sprint Time
Locomotor and acceleration performance measured in seconds.
Time frame: Baseline (before the intervention) and post-intervention (after 8 weeks of training).
Plan to share: No — Individual participant data will not be shared outside of the research team to maintain participant confidentiality, as explicit consent for public data repository sharing was not obtained from the legal guardians at the time of enrollment.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Ran from Nov 2025 to primary completion in Mar 2026, 4 months.
Of 89 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Flatfoot, half reached primary completion within 7 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 2 and three quarters within 15. This study's 4 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 89 studies reached it within 7 months; a quarter within 2 and three quarters within 15.
Since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026, the dates moved once, on Nov 10, 2026: primary completion Jan 2026 → Mar 2026 and completion May 2026 → Apr 2026.
Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Faculty of Medicine, Sousse