Trial reportScientific reports2025
Effects of rear-foot instability devices on lower-limb muscle activation during the Bulgarian split squat in male football players.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07697027 (The Effects of Unstable Resistance Training on Dynamic Balance and Rapid Change-of-Direction Ability in Male College Basketball Players), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effects of Unstable Resistance Training on Dynamic Balance and Rapid Change-of-Direction Ability in Male College Basketball Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of External Load and Holding Duration on PAPE and Muscle Activation During Isometric Split Squat Conditioning Activity.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Trial
- External Load, More than Surface Instability, Drives Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Split Squat Conditioning Activity: Phase-Specific EMG Responses.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Unilateral resistance exercises such as the Bulgarian Split Squat (BSS) are commonly used to develop lower-limb strength, postural control, and neuromuscular coordination, depending on training variables (e.g., load and intensity). Although instability training increases muscle activation, few studies have examined the effect of rearfoot instability on neuromuscular responses during BSS. This randomized crossover study investigated the acute effects of three rear-foot instability devices on muscle activation during the ascent and descent phases of the BSS in 23 trained male football players. Participants performed body-weight BSS under four conditions: stable platform, BOSU ball, Swiss ball (Swiss), and TRX suspension. Surface electromyography (sEMG) recorded activation of the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), biceps femoris (BF), semitendinosus (ST), and gluteus maximus (GM). Two‑way repeated‑measures ANOVA showed significantly greater activation during ascent for BF (p < 0.001), ST (p = 0.006), VL (p < 0.001), VM (p < 0.001), and GM (p < 0.001). Quadriceps activation during descent was highest on the Swiss: RF (Swiss vs. stable: p = 0.002; Swiss vs. BOSU: p < 0.001; Swiss vs. TRX: p = 0.006), VL (Swiss vs. stable: p = 0.017; Swiss vs. BOSU: p = 0.001), and VM (Swiss vs. stable: p = 0.024; Swiss vs. BOSU: p = 0.046). TRX increased ST activation during the ascent compared to the Swiss (p = 0.034), and the BOSU showed higher ST activation than the Swiss during the descent (p = 0.004). Surface significantly affected activation (ST: p = 0.018; RF: p < 0.001; VL: p < 0.001; VM: p = 0.013; GM: p = 0.042), and there was a significant surface × phase interaction for GM (p = 0.041). The findings highlight rearfoot instability as an effective programming variable to selectively enhance muscle activation without external loading, supporting its application in strength and rehabilitation programs.
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