Stretching vs Walking for Lowering Blood Pressure

NCT05252208 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 2874
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 96
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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). Stretching may also be effective because it may cause changes in blood vessel stiffness and therefore reduce resistance to blood flow. The study will assess a group of individuals (i.e. 96) participating in a supervised stretching or walking program five days per week for six months to determine 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.

Conditions

Hypertension

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Night time systolic and diastolic blood pressure

  Blood pressure assessed during the night with an automated device

  Change from baseline night time blood pressure at 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (8)

• Day time systolic and diastolic blood pressure

  Change from baseline day time blood pressure at 6 months

• Sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressure

  Change from baseline sitting blood pressure at 6 months

• Lying systolic and diastolic blood pressure

  Change from baseline lying blood pressure at 6 months

• Arterial stiffness

  Change from baseline arterial stiffness at 6 months

• Heart rate variability

  Change from baseline heart rate variability at 6 months

Study Arms (2)

Stretching

EXPERIMENTAL

Stretching

Other: Stretching exercise

Walking

EXPERIMENTAL

Walking

Other: Walking exercise

Interventions

Stretching exercise OTHER

Stretching (30-45 minutes, 5 days per week, 6 months)

Stretching

Walking exercise OTHER

Walking (30-45 minutes, 5 days per week, 6 months)

Walking

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Systolic blood pressure between 130 and 159 mmHg OR diastolic blood pressure between 85 and 99 mmHg
• Able to walk unaided for 30 minutes
• Can safely perform exercises as determined by the Get Active Questionnaire

You may not qualify if:

• Not on blood pressure medication unless it has been a stable dose for 6 months and target blood pressure has not been achieved (i.e. below 140/90 mmHg)
• Smoking
• Already performing 150 minutes or more moderate to vigorous physical activity per week
• Already involved in a flexibility-training program (e.g. Yoga or Pilates)
• Pregnant or lactating or planning to become pregnant during the study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Saskatchewan: lead
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Saskatchewan

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N5B2, Canada

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Hypertension

Interventions

Muscle Stretching Exercises

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Exercise Therapy; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Patient Care; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Exercise; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Philip Chilibeck, Ph.D.

  University of Saskatchewan

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Philip Chilibeck, Ph.D.

CONTACT

306-966-1072; phil.chilibeck@usask.ca

John Ko, M.Sc.

CONTACT

306-966-1082; jongbum.ko@usask.ca

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Model Details: Parallel groups: Two groups: Walking exercise and stretching exercise

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 12, 2022
• First Posted: February 23, 2022
• Study Start: March 28, 2022
• Primary Completion: February 28, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2026
• Last Updated: April 23, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)