Back Massage Before a Cognitive Task in Healthy Young Adults

NCT07893886 · tracked via the Priya Life Science Poland tracker

Sponsor

DSW Ideis University

Phase

Not applicable

Started

2026-11

Last updated

2026-10-26

Condition(s) studied

Cognitive Performance in Healthy Adults

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Classical Back MassagePassive RestNo Additional Break

Classical Back Massage: A 15-minute classical back massage while lying face down, delivered by trained personnel before TLoadDback.

Passive Rest: A 15-minute quiet rest lying face down on the massage table without massage before TLoadDback.

No Additional Break: TLoadDback begins immediately after the seated resting baseline, without an additional 15-minute preparation period.

Study summary

This study will compare a 15-minute back massage, 15 minutes of quiet rest, and no additional break before a mental task in healthy adults aged 18 to 27 years. Each participant will complete all three conditions in a random order at separate visits. The study will measure task accuracy, heart rate, skin conductance, and perceived workload to assess whether massage offers a benefit beyond rest.

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Min age

18 Years

Max age

27 Years

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 to 27 years and good general health. * Informed consent and ability to attend three visits. * Normal or corrected vision, understanding of Polish instructions, and ability to perform the computer task with the dominant hand. Exclusion Criteria: * Neurological, psychiatric, or other conditions that may affect study participation or task performance. * Medications or substances affecting autonomic function. * Contraindications to massage, including relevant skin lesions or inflammation. * Failure to understand the task after repeated instruction or to complete calibration. * Cognitive or relaxation-focused nonpharmacological interventions within the previous three months, excluding recreational physical activity. * Caffeine or nicotine within four hours, or strenuous exercise within 12 hours before a visit; the visit may be rescheduled.

Primary outcome measure(s)

Weighted Accuracy on TLoadDback (WAcc) — During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).
Weighted accuracy across the full task: 0.65 x letter accuracy + 0.35 x digit accuracy. Letter accuracy includes correct detections and correct withholding of responses; digit accuracy is correct parity classification. Scores range from 0 to 100%, with higher scores indicating better performance.
Mean Heart Rate During TLoadDback — During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).
Mean heart rate in beats per minute during the task, derived from photoplethysmography. Analyses will account for the precondition resting baseline from the same visit.
Mean Skin Conductance During TLoadDback — During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).
Mean skin conductance in microsiemens during the task. Analyses will account for the precondition resting baseline from the same visit.

Trial sites (1)

Facility	City	Region	Status
Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Polskich Olimpijczyków we Wrocławiu	Wroclaw	Poland

More DSW Ideis University trials in Poland

Predicting Declines in Attention and Memory During a Prolonged Mental Task Starting soon

Official registry record

This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.

View NCT07893886 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ ← All trials in Poland