Effects of Progressive Muscle Relaxation on Stress and Bowling Skills in Medium Fast Bowlers | NCT07731464

NCT07731464

Overview

NCT ID: NCT07731464
Lead Sponsor: Riphah International UniversityOTHER
Official Title: Effects of Progressive Muscle Relaxation on Stress and Bowling Skills in Cricket Medium Fast Bowlers
Brief Summary: The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a 4-week Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) protocol can manage psychological stress and improve performance in male cricket medium-fast bowlers aged 16-30 years. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does a 4-week PMR protocol significantly reduce perceived stress scores compared to standard training?

Does a 4-week PMR protocol significantly improve ball release speed and bowling accuracy? Researchers will compare an experimental group receiving a structured PMR protocol prior to warm-ups to a control group following standard traditional training (generalized warm-ups, stretching, and shadow bowling) to see if the relaxation intervention leads to lower perceived stress, higher bowling speed, and improved bowling accuracy.

Participants will:

Complete the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) at baseline and after the 4-week period.

Deliver six balls at a designated target pitch and stump zone while being timed by a hand-held radar gun to measure baseline and post-intervention speed and accuracy.

Depending on group assignment, either attend 2 sessions per week of a structured, contract-relax progressive muscle relaxation protocol or attend 2 sessions per week of traditional warm-up and stretching drills.

Status and Timeline

Status: Completed
Last Update Posted: Jul 28, 2026Actual
Start Date: Aug 16, 2025Actual
Primary Completion Date: Feb 21, 2026Actual
Completion Date

Participation Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study: Adult (18-64)
Sexes Eligible for Study: Male
Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Yes
Eligibility Criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Must be a male cricket medium-fast bowler.

Must be between 18 and 25 years of age.

Must be an active club-level player with a minimum of 2 years of competitive playing experience.

Must be physically healthy, fit, and currently active in regular training.

Exclusion Criteria:

Recent Injuries: Any history of recent lower-limb or upper-limb orthopedic injuries, acute musculoskeletal trauma, or surgeries within the past 6 months.

Any history of underlying neurological disorders or clinical psychological conditions that could independently alter motor coordination or stress perception.

Currently undergoing or having recently undergone any structured psychological therapies, systematic relaxation training, or counseling programs.

Any current chronic systemic diseases or medical issues that would prevent safe participation in standard athletic field training.

Study Plan

Study Type: Interventional
Phase: Not Applicable
Enrollment: 20Actual
Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single

Contacts and Locations

Central Contacts: No data available
Locations: Asif Memorial Cricket Club

Similar Studies

Participant Group/Arms

Experimental Group (PMR)Experimental

Participants receive a structured, 4-week Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) protocol conducted twice a week prior to standard training sessions. The intervention involves systematic contract-relax muscle sequences moving from distal to proximal muscle groups.

Behavioral: Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Behavioral: Traditional Training / Active Comparator

Control Group (Traditional Training)Active Comparator

Participants undergo standard traditional athletic training twice a week for 4 weeks. This includes generalized active warm-ups, dynamic and static stretching, and shadow bowling drills to match the training volume of the experimental group.

Behavioral: Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)