Eccentric Exercise in Community-dwelling Older Adults (HEX:AGEUK)

October 29, 2026 updated by: Brett Baxter, The University of Northampton

The Effects of an Eccentric-biased Strengthening Programme Delivered to Community-dwelling Older Adults"

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a 12-month eccentric-biased strengthening programme in community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Can an eccentric-biased strengthening programme be feasibly delivered to community-dwelling older adults in a community setting? Does participation in the programme improve functional mobility, lower-limb strength, falls self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life?

Participants will:

Attend a 12-month supervised eccentric-biased strengthening programme delivered in a community setting.

Complete assessments of functional mobility, lower-limb strength, falls self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life before and after the intervention.

Provide information regarding their experience of participating in the programme to evaluate its acceptability.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Age-related declines in muscle strength, power, and physical function contribute to reduced mobility, loss of independence, and an increased risk of falls among older adults. Resistance exercise is recommended to mitigate these declines; however, conventional exercise programmes may be limited by physical capacity, fatigue, or accessibility. Eccentric muscle actions allow greater force production at a lower metabolic cost and may therefore represent an effective and practical training modality for older adults.

This study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a community-based eccentric-biased strengthening programme delivered to community-dwelling older adults. Participants will be recruited through community organisations and complete a 12-month supervised exercise intervention designed to improve lower-limb strength and functional performance.

Feasibility will be evaluated through recruitment, retention, attendance, adherence, and adverse event monitoring. Acceptability will be assessed through participant feedback and experiences of programme participation. Preliminary effectiveness will be explored through changes in measures of physical function, falls-related self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life collected before and after the intervention.

The findings will provide evidence regarding the practicality of delivering an eccentric-biased strengthening programme within a community setting and will inform the design of future adequately powered controlled studies investigating the effectiveness of eccentric exercise interventions in older adults.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Northamptonshire
      • Northampton, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, NN1 5PH
        • University of Northampton

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

65 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Age ≥ 65 years Ambulant with or without a walking aid

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to provide informed consent, assessed using the Mental Capacity Act two-stage assessment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Intervention

Eccentric exercise programme
Other: Eccentric exercise intervention

Participants will undertake a 12-month supervised eccentric-biased strengthening programme delivered in a community setting, with the option of performing this at home. The intervention will consist of 6x 1-minute progressive lower-limb strengthening exercises emphasising the eccentric phase of movement, including functional tasks relevant to activities of daily living. Exercise difficulty will be progressively increased throughout the programme according to participant performance and tolerance. Community sessions will be led by staff at the community setting who will have been educated and trained by developers of the exercise programme in a group-based format. The intervention is designed to improve lower-limb strength, mobility, balance confidence, and physical function in community-dwelling older adults.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of Intervention Recruitment
Time Frame: Up to 12 months

Feasibility of recruitment will be assessed through participant recruitment capacity, calculated as the number of participants enrolled on the study relative to total number of people invited to take part.
Up to 12 months
Feasibility of Intervention Delivery
Time Frame: Up to 12 months

Feasibility of delivery will be assessed through participant partiicpant adherence to the intervention, calculated as the number of sessions attended relative to the total number of sessions presrcibed.
Up to 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Timed Up and Go Test
Time Frame: Up to 12 months

Timed Up and Go test wil require participants to rise from a chair, walk three metres, turn around, return to the chair, and sit down. The time taken to complete the test will be recorded in seconds.
Up to 12 months
Sit-to-stand Test
Time Frame: Up to 12 months

Lower-limb strength will be assessed using the Five Times Sit-to-Stand test. Participants will be asked to stand up and sit down five times as quickly as possible from a standard chair without using their arms for assistance. Time to completion will be recorded in seconds.
Up to 12 months
Falls Efficacy Scale International
Time Frame: Up to 12 months

The Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) will be used to assess the fear of falling. The FES-I is a validated self-report questionnaire that evaluates an individual's concern about falling during a range of everyday activities. Higher scores indicate greater concern about falling.
Up to 12 months
EuroQol Five-Dimension Five-Level Questionnaire
Time Frame: Up to 12 months

Health-related quality of life will be assessed using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. The instrument evaluates mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression, alongside a self-rated health visual analogue scale.
Up to 12 months
Intervention Acceptability
Time Frame: Up to 12 months

Participant acceptability of the eccentric-biased strengthening programme will be assessed through post-intervention feedback. Information regarding participant satisfaction, perceived benefits, barriers to participation, and willingness to continue exercise following programme completion will be collected.
Up to 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
The University of Northampton

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Brett A. Baxter, PhD, University of Northampton

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 23, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 29, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 29, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • FHSHEA000518

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data for all primary and secondary outcome measures reported in study publications will be made available. This includes baseline and post-intervention values for TUG, 5×STS, Short FES-I, EQ-5D-5L, and intervention adherence metrics. No personally identifiable information will be shared.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

IPD will be available indefinitely as it will be stored on a public resposiotory (PURE).

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Public

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Study Data/Documents

  1. Individual Participant Data Set

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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