Stretching Versus Walking From Reducing Blood Pressure

• Sponsor: University of Saskatchewan (Other)
• Overall Status: Completed
• CT.gov ID: NCT03947996
• Collaborator: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (Other)
• Enrollment: 40
• Location: 1
• Arms: 2
• Actual Duration (Months): 7.6
• Patients Per Site Per Month: 5.3

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Traditionally, one of the ways to treat or prevent high blood pressure is to prescribe aerobic exercise training (i.e.brisk walking). Previous studies have shown that stretching is also very effective for reducing blood pressure. This is an exciting possibility because if stretching is more effective, it would change the way exercise is prescribed to people with elevated blood pressure. This study will now assess 20 individuals in a supervised stretching or walking program five days per week for 8 weeks to determine for certain whether stretching is superior for reducing blood pressure. This research will contribute to recommendations about the most effective exercise programs for reducing blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Hypertension	Other: Stretching exercise; Other: Walking exercise	N/A

Detailed Description

The study hypothesis is that stretching (flexibility training) will be superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure.

This is a parallel-group randomised trial. Twenty participants (aged 18 and older) with borderline or stage-1 hypertension (systolic blood pressure between 130 and 159 mmHg OR diastolic blood pressure between 85 and 99 mmHg) will be randomised to walking or stretching groups. Each group will do 30 minutes of exercise, five days per week. Exercise sessions will be supervised three days per week with participants doing exercise sessions on their own two days per week. Exercise sessions involve either brisk walking or stretching. The stretching exercises will involve stretching all major muscle groups. The main outcome is 24-hour blood pressure which will be assessed at baseline, after four weeks, and after eight weeks. Other outcomes will be assessed at baseline and eight weeks and include: Body weight, height, waist circumference, resting heart rate, physical activity levels (questionnaire), diet (questionnaire), maximal distance walked in six minutes. All participants will be counselled on how to follow the DASH eating plan, which involves reducing dietary salt intake.

Statistical analyses: All outcomes will be assessed with a group x time ANOVA with alpha level of 0.05. LSD post-hoc tests will be done when necessary to identify differences between pairs of means.

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Actual Enrollment: 40 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
• Intervention Model Description: Parallel groups: Two groups: Walking exercise and stretching exerciseParallel groups: Two groups: Walking exercise and stretching exercise
• Masking: Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Official Title: Comparison of Stretching and Walking as Exercise Modalities for Reducing Blood Pressure
• Actual Study Start Date: May 15, 2019
• Actual Primary Completion Date: Sep 15, 2019
• Actual Study Completion Date: Dec 31, 2019

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Stretching Stretching	Other: Stretching exercise; Stretching (30 minutes, 5 days per week, 8 weeks)
Experimental: Walking Walking	Other: Walking exercise; Walking (30 minutes, 5 days per week, 8 weeks)

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

1. Night time blood pressure [Change from Baseline Night Time Blood Pressure at 8 weeks]

   Blood pressure assessed during the night with an automated device

Secondary Outcome Measures

1. Day time blood pressure [Change from Baseline Day Time Blood Pressure at 8 weeks]

   Blood pressure assessed during the day with an automated device

2. Sitting blood pressure [Change from Baseline Sitting Blood Pressure at 8 weeks]

   Blood pressure assessed while sitting

3. Lying blood pressure [Change from Baseline Lying Blood Pressure at 8 weeks]

   Blood pressure assessed while lying down

4. Walking test [Change from Baseline Walking Distance at 8 weeks]

   Maximal distance walked in six minutes

5. Waist circumference [Change from Baseline Waist Circumference at 8 weeks]

   Waist circumference measured with a measuring tape

6. Body mass [Change from Baseline Body Mass at 8 weeks]

   Body mass measured with a scale

7. Resting heart rate [Change from Baseline Resting Heart Rate at 8 weeks]

   Heart rate at rest measured with a heart rate monitor

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years and Older
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

• Systolic blood pressure between 130 and 159 mmHg OR diastolic blood pressure between 85 and 99 mmHg

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals will be excluded if they have taken blood pressure medications within the past six months unless they are on a stable dose of medication and have not reach target blood pressure levels (i.e. systolic blood pressure below 130 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure below 85 mmHg)

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan	Saskatoon	Saskatchewan	Canada	S7N5B2

Sponsors and Collaborators

• University of Saskatchewan
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Investigators

• Principal Investigator: Philip Chilibeck, Ph.D., University of Saskatchewan

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

• Ko J, Deprez D, Shaw K, Alcorn J, Hadjistavropoulos T, Tomczak C, Foulds H, Chilibeck PD. Stretching is Superior to Brisk Walking for Reducing Blood Pressure in People With High-Normal Blood Pressure or Stage I Hypertension. J Phys Act Health. 2021 Jan 1;18(1):21-28. doi: 10.1123/jpah.2020-0365. Epub 2020 Dec 18.

• Responsible Party: Phil Chilibeck, Professor, University of Saskatchewan
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03947996
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1133
• First Posted: May 13, 2019
• Last Update Posted: Feb 10, 2021
• Last Verified: Feb 1, 2021

• Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: No
• Plan to Share IPD: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: No
• Additional relevant MeSH terms: Hypertension

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Feb 10, 2021