NCT06281795

Neuromodulation of the Autonomic Nervous System in Athletes

Neuromodulation of the Autonomic Nervous System in Athletes (NANSA Trial)

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 125 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Bakulev Scientific Center of Cardiovascular Surgery · Other Government
• Sex: All
• Age: 15 Years – 35 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

There are few studies in the literature that have evaluated the effects of using percutaneous stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve for sports purposes (to accelerate recovery after physical exertion). It has been demonstrated that tVNS in athletes improved the rate of heart rate recovery, reduced lactic acid levels in blood plasma, reduced pain, reduced overtraining syndrome and fatigue levels.

Detailed description

Several studies have shown that transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) potentially exhibits therapeutic effects similar to its invasive counterpart. tVNS is performed using surface electrodes and low-frequency electrical currents, targeting specific locations, most commonly the auricular branch of the vagus nerve or its cervical branch. Stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve activates vagal sensory fibers, simulating sensory input to the brainstem and forming what is known as the auriculo-vagal afferent pathway. Since these fibers project directly to the nucleus of the solitary tract (also known as the solitary tract nucleus), which in turn has direct or indirect projections to nuclei that provide noradrenergic, endorphinergic, and serotonergic fibers in various parts of the brain, regulating systemic parameters of cardiovascular, respiratory, and immune functions, it can be expected that the body's response to stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve will be systemic. With the onset of physical exercise, sympathetic activity in the body increases and reaches a plateau value after a certain period of maximum activity. After the end of physical exercise, suppressed parasympathetic activity begins to intensify, and the sympathetic system gradually returns to a resting state. After training, parasympathetic system activation continues for up to 48 hours. In certain types of training, when the frequency of anaerobic respiration increases during physical exertion, a decrease in parasympathetic reactivation may be observed. In the literature, there are individual studies that have evaluated the effects of transcutaneous stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve for sports purposes (to accelerate recovery processes after physical exertion). It has been demonstrated that tVNS in athletes improves heart rate recovery, reduces lactate levels in plasma, reduces pain sensations, decreases overtraining syndrome, and reduces fatigue levels. The aim of this study is to: evaluate the influence of low-frequency electrical stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve on the functional reserve of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in athletes during the post-training period, after high-intensity workouts.

Conditions

• Efficacy, Self
• Fatigue; Muscle, Heart
• Fatigue, Mental
• Fatigue; Combat

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	tVNS	tVNS will be performed daily after workouts for 60 minutes over a period of 8 weeks.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-04-01
• Primary completion: 2026-01-31
• Completion: 2026-01-31
• First posted: 2024-02-28
• Last updated: 2025-06-26

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Russia