The Effect of Neuroscience-Based Exercise Training on Shooting Performance and Neuromuscular Performance in Archers

Overview

Archery is a sport that demands sport-specific motor performance, emphasizing fine motor control, postural stability, balance, and concentration skills. Athletes aim to deliver the arrow to the target by ensuring maximum stability with minimal body movement during shooting. While muscle strength, upper extremity endurance, and overall body stability are among the primary factors influencing performance, many other parameters also determine shooting success. Studies investigating muscle activity in archery have demonstrated that the primary muscle groups involved in shooting are the scapular muscles, shoulder girdle muscles, and forearm muscles. These muscles are activated at varying levels to facilitate target focus and play an active role in shooting by contributing to postural and scapular stabilization. Additionally, core muscles enhance movement capacity by centrally stabilizing the body during motion. Activation of pelvic-region muscles, in particular, contributes to improved balance skills, thereby making a meaningful impact on performance. Archers are expected to maintain stability by minimizing movement during shooting and to rapidly adapt to postural instability that may arise during aiming. Every involuntary movement decreases stability and makes it harder to hit the center of the target. In this context, executing motor actions with high precision and developing adaptive responses to postural instability are of great importance. One of the core components of the balance system-the visual system-also significantly affects performance. During postural sway, visual stabilization plays a critical role; as the distance to the target increases, displacements on the retina become larger, making visual focusing more challenging. Moreover, to make the shooting decision at the right moment, it is essential to maintain visual concentration effectively. In this project, while no intervention will be applied to the control group, archers using classical bows in the exercise group will participate in a six-week neuroscience-based exercise program. The program includes scapular and core stabilization, balance training, gaze stabilization, and NeuroTracker training. This six-week program is designed to be progressive and holistic, and its effects will be investigated. Muscle activity will be analyzed through EMG, postural sway will be assessed using the ProKin TecnoBody 252 stabilometric platform, clinical upper extremity balance will be evaluated with the Y Balance Test, eye tracking will be measured using the Pupil headset (Pupil Labs), and spinal stabilization endurance will be assessed through the Biering-Sorensen Test, Lateral Bridge Test, and the Step Test. Shooting performance will be evaluated based on target paper scores. Statistical analyses will be performed using IBM SPSS version 28. Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods will be utilized. Within the scope of descriptive statistics, participants' demographic characteristics and other key variables will be summarized using mean (X̄), standard deviation (SD), frequency (n), and percentage (%). The findings will be evaluated at a significance level of p\<0.05. The study will include a comprehensive analysis using objective measurement methods. In the literature, no previous study has approached neuroscience-based exercise interventions for archers in such a comprehensive and multidimensional manner. This project aims not only to enhance athletic performance but also to prevent shoulder, scapular, and upper extremity injuries that may result from repetitive shooting movements. This research will be one of the first comprehensive studies to address balance, muscle activity, and cognitive performance in archery holistically, offering an original and scientifically valuable contribution to the sports science literature.

Interventions

• Other Exercise Group
  Participants in the neuromuscular exercise group will undergo a training program supervised by the researcher, conducted twice a week for 6 weeks. This group will receive gaze stabilization training, core stabilization training, scapular stabilization training, balance training, and NeuroTracker training. The exercises provided to the neuromuscular exercise group are structured in three phases and progressively intensified based on phase transition criteria.
• Other control group
  There are standard exercise programs consisting of scapular stabilization and balance exercises.These exercises are commonly used in clinical rehabilitation and will not include any additional neurosensory or visual components.

Primary outcome measures

• Shooting Performance [Time frame: Change from Shooting Performance at 6 weeks]
• Muscle Activity [Time frame: Change from Muscle Activity at 6 weeks]
• Muscle strength [Time frame: Change in muscle strength over 6 weeks]

Secondary outcome measures (6)

• Postural Sway Assessment [Time frame: Change from Postural Sway Assessment at 6 weeks]
• Eye Tracking [Time frame: Change from Eye Tracking at 6 weeks]
• Endurance of extensor spinal stabilizer muscles [Time frame: Change from Endurance of extensor spinal stabilizer muscles at 6 weeks]
• Endurance of flexor spinal stabilizer muscles [Time frame: Change from Endurance of flexor spinal stabilizer muscles at 6 weeks]
• Endurance of oblique spinal stabilizer muscles [Time frame: Change from Endurance of oblique spinal stabilizer muscles at 6 weeks]
• Balance Assessment [Time frame: Change from Balance Assessment at 6 weeks]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Aged between 15 and 18 years
• Licensed archer using a classical bow for at least 6 months
• Using a clicker for at least 6 months
• Training at least twice a week

Exclusion criteria

• Presence of any symptoms related to the upper or lower extremities
• Any type of surgical intervention in the upper extremity or spine
• Presence of mental or cognitive disorders
• Use of substances that may affect shooting performance, such as painkillers, sedatives, or alcohol

Withdrawal Criteria:

• Reporting an injury or illness during the study
• Experiencing acute muscle spasm
• Choosing to discontinue participation
• Failing to attend exercise training sessions on two consecutive occasions

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07051577 · IstinyeUnv2025

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗