Análise dos efeitos agudos da aplicação de acupuntura sistêmica sobre parâmetros de força e potência muscular em jovens praticantes de handebol masculino – um ensaio clínico, controlado, randomizado e duplo cego.

Abstract

In sports, some researches have tried to use acupuncture as an ergogenic resource, that is, that can help improve performance in some sports and in several variables of physical fitness. A double-blind clinical trial was conducted to analyze the effects of acute application of acupuncture on the strength and muscle activation of lower and upper limbs and on physical performance in 27 male handball players, aged between 16 and 40 years. The tests of vertical jump, handgrip strength in the dominant limb and isometric muscle strength of knee extensors in the dominant and non-dominant limbs were used. Participants were randomly divided into: Control Group (CG): without acupuncture; Acupuncture Group (GA): with systemic acupuncture at points (V20, IG15, P5, IG4, F13, E36, VB34 and BP6) for 30 minutes; Placebo Group (GP): with stimulation at the same points, but without perforation of the skin. After acupuncture, participants repeated the physical tests. There were no significant differences for vertical jump, both in intra-group and inter-group comparisons. There was a significant decline in the FPP test in the intragroup sham and acupuncture group (GP p = 0.03; GA p = 0.003), however in the intergroup analysis there was no significant difference. In the intragroup analysis of MVIC there was a significant decline only in the sham group, both in the dominant leg (p = 0.04) and in the non-dominant leg (p = 0.04), but no significant differences were found in the intergroup analyzes. Thus, we can partially conclude that the acute application of the systemic acupuncture protocol, proposed in this study, produced a decrease in the hand grip strength of handball practitioners. Regarding the isometric muscular strength of the lower limbs and the performance of the vertical jump in handball practitioners, there were no effects of the application of the acupuncture protocol.