The Effect of Transcranial Direct Stimulation in Combination with Neuromuscular Exercises on Dynamic Knee Valgus Angle, Performance and Balance of Elite Martial Artists

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of transcranial direct stimulation (tDCS) in combination with neuromuscular exercises (NME) on knee valgus angle, performance and balance of elite martial artists. In this double-blind clinical trial with pre-test and post-test design, 34 martial arts were randomly allocated into two groups: tDCS in combination with NME (n=17) and tDCS (sham) in combination with NME(n=17). In order to determine the dynamic knee valgus, the video of the subjects' moment of landing videos was analyzed with Kinovea software. Lower extremity function was evaluated by four hopping test and balance were evaluated by Y-test. Then, the interventions were implemented for four weeks. After the completion of the interventions, the results of the study were re-examined immediately. Dependent t-test was used for within-group comparisons and independent t-test and covariance analysis were used for between-groups comparisons. The findings showed that NME and tDCS have a significant effect on the valgus angle (P=0.0001), single-hopping (P=0.12), triple-hopping (P=0.13), cross-hopping (P=0.19), 6-meter hopping (P=0.0001), and balance (P=0.004). Also, NME and tDCS (sham) have significant effects on knee valgus (P=0.0001), single-hopping (P=0.83), triple-hopping (P=0.96), crossed-hopping (P=0.53), 6-meter-hopping (P=0.011), and balance (P=0.009). However, there was no significant difference between the groups (P>0.05). The statistical findings showed that tDCS probably doesn’t have a significant effect on knee valgus, function, and balance of elite martial artists. however, based on clinical findings tDCS had more effect than Sham on function, so it is recommended that more research should be done in this field.