NCT07267429

Brief Summary

Resistance exercise training (RET) in children and adolescents has become a popular activity, with a growing body of evidence supporting its use. Numerous studies indicate that it is safe and effective at increasing muscular strength, improving sport performance, and mitigating injury risk. Despite this evidence, there are still many unknowns with RET in children, including its mechanisms of action in enhancing muscle strength. Neural and muscular mechanisms can improve muscle strength following RET. Neural factors include improved recruitment and firing of an individual's muscle cells, and muscular factors primarily include an increase in the size of the muscle (hypertrophy). In children, little is known about how these mechanisms relate to muscle strength. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to non-invasively assess the mechanisms of RET-induced strength increases in children performing 12 weeks of RET, compared with a non-training control group. Broadly, muscular adaptations will be assessed using ultrasound measures, while neural mechanisms will be assessed using surface electromyography decomposition.

Trial Health

57
Monitor

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
40

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Dec 2025

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

November 25, 2025

Completed
6 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

December 1, 2025

Completed
4 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

December 5, 2025

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

February 1, 2026

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

February 1, 2026

Completed
Last Updated

December 15, 2025

Status Verified

December 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

2 months

First QC Date

November 25, 2025

Last Update Submit

December 7, 2025

Conditions

Healthy Participants

Keywords

Strength trainingResistance training

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • muscle strength

    1 repetition maximal - knee extension

    From enrollment to the end of training at 12 weeks

  • Peak torque

    Peaktorque will be measured during isokinetic and isometric maximal contractions of the knee extensors

    From enrollment to end of training at 12 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (3)

  • Motor unit activation

    from enrollment to end of training at 12 weeks

  • muscle cross sectional area

    from enrollment to end of training at 12 weeks

  • Blood pressure regulation

    from enrollment to end of training at 12 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Training

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

resistance training, 12 weeks, 2 times per week

Other: Resistance training

Control

NO INTERVENTION

continue with habitual physical activity

Interventions

Resistance trainingOTHER

progressive resistance training, 12 weeks, 2 times per week

Training

Eligibility Criteria

Age7 Years - 12 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17)

You may qualify if:

  • healthy
  • able to exercise

You may not qualify if:

  • have consumed any medications in the past year which may affect muscle function,
  • have any prior injuries or medical diagnoses associated with altered muscular function,
  • have had an injury in the past 6 months that would limit the movements required for the training and assessment protocols,
  • have performed resistance training in the past 6 months or currently participate in competitive sports (i.e., outside of school) more than 2x/week.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Brock University

Saint Catharines, Ontario, L2S3A1, Canada

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Resistance Training

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Exercise TherapyRehabilitationAftercareContinuity of Patient CarePatient CareTherapeuticsPhysical Therapy ModalitiesPhysical Conditioning, HumanExerciseMotor ActivityMovementMusculoskeletal Physiological PhenomenaMusculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

  • Bareket Falk, PhD

    Brock University

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Andrew McKiel, MSc

CONTACT

1 905 688-5550am20ff@brocku.ca

James I Maynard, MSc

CONTACT

1 905 688-5550jm15mc@brocku.ca

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
BASIC SCIENCE
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

November 25, 2025

First Posted

December 5, 2025

Study Start

December 1, 2025

Primary Completion

February 1, 2026

Study Completion

February 1, 2026

Last Updated

December 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Participation is confidential

Locations

CA(1)