Stair Descending vs. Stair Ascending Exercise

August 24, 2012 updated by: Dr. Anastasios Theodorou, European University Cyprus

The Effect of Stair Descending and Stair Ascending Exercise on Muscle Strength and Performance: the SmartEscalator Device

The aim of the present project is to compare the acute and chronic effect of stair descending versus stair ascending exercise on muscle damage and performance in elderly males with chronic heart failure.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Study design:

Twelve elderly males with chronic heart failure, New York Heart Association class I-II, will participate in this study. Participants will be allocated into two equally-sized groups: a stair descending group (n = 6) and a stair ascending group (n = 6). At the beginning of the study, the volunteers will perform an acute bout of stair descending or stair ascending exercise on an automatic escalator (4 sets of 3 min each, speed will be set at 45 steps∙min-1). Step height will be 20.5 mm. Before and at day 2 post exercise, physiologic measurements will be performed and blood samples will be collected. Then, participants will carry out six weeks of stair descending or ascending training consisting of three exercise sessions per week (the first two weeks the speed will be set at 45 steps∙min-1, the next two weeks at 50 steps∙min-1 and the last two weeks at 55 steps∙min-1 for both groups). Afterward, they will repeat the acute stair descending or ascending protocol, as carried out at the beginning of the study, and the same physiologic measurements will be performed and blood samples will be collected.

Measurements:

Isometric (at 90 knee flexion), concentric and eccentric peak torque at 60o∙s-1of quadriceps femoris, pain-free range of motion, delayed onset muscle soreness and creatine kinase will be measured.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

12

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • Cyprus
      • Nicosia, Cyprus, 1516
        • European University Cyprus

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

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • chronic heart failure (New York Heart Association class I-II)
  • subject provides written informed consent
  • personal physician of the participants provides written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • smoker
  • consumed any nutritional supplement the last 3 months
  • performed intense eccentric exercise the last 6 months
  • non Caucasian

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Stair descending group
Stair descending exercise. Participants will carry out six weeks of stair descending training consisting of three exercise sessions per week.
Other: Exercise
Comparison between stair descending and stair ascending training
Experimental: Stair ascending group
Stair ascending exercise. Participants will carry out six weeks of stair descending training consisting of three exercise sessions per week.
Other: Exercise
Comparison between stair descending and stair ascending training

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Muscle strength (torque)
Time Frame: Change from baseline in muscle strength at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
An isokinetic dynamometer (Cybex, Ronkonkoma, NY) will be used for the measurement of isometric, eccentric and concentric knee extensor peak torque at 90° knee flexion. The average of the three best maximal voluntary contractions with their dominant leg will be recorded. In order to ensure that the subjects provide their maximal effort, the measurements will be repeated if the difference between the lower and the higher torque value exceeded 10%. There will be two minutes rest between isometric efforts.
Change from baseline in muscle strength at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain free range of motion (degrees)
Time Frame: Before and at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
The assessment of pain-free ROM will be performed manually using the the isokinetic dynamometer. The investigator will move the calf at a very low angular velocity from 0 knee extension to the position where the subject will feel any discomfort.
Before and at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
Creatine kinase, CK (activity IU)
Time Frame: Before and at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
CK activity will be measured as a general indicator of muscle damage.It will be measured in a Cobas Integra Plus 400 chemistry analyzer.
Before and at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
Delayed onset muscle soreness, DOMS (scale 1-10)
Time Frame: Before and at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
Each participant will assess delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) during squat movement (90o knee flexion) and perceived soreness will be rated on a scale ranging from 1 (normal) to 10 (very sore).
Before and at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

European University Cyprus

Collaborators

Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki
University of Thessaly

Investigators

  • Study Chair: George Panayiotou, PhD, Research Centre, European University Cyprus

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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

February 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 22, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 24, 2012

First Posted (Estimate)

August 28, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 28, 2012

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 24, 2012

Last Verified

August 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • EUC-011

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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