Stretching Versus Walking From Reducing Blood Pressure

Comparison of Stretching and Walking as Exercise Modalities for Reducing Blood Pressure

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hypertension
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Stretching exercise; Other: Walking exercise

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 Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Saskatchewan
    • Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N5B2
      • College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

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)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

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

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Night time blood pressure	Blood pressure assessed during the night with an automated device	Change from Baseline Night Time Blood Pressure at 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Day time blood pressure	Blood pressure assessed during the day with an automated device	Change from Baseline Day Time Blood Pressure at 8 weeks
Sitting blood pressure	Blood pressure assessed while sitting	Change from Baseline Sitting Blood Pressure at 8 weeks
Lying blood pressure	Blood pressure assessed while lying down	Change from Baseline Lying Blood Pressure at 8 weeks
Walking test	Maximal distance walked in six minutes	Change from Baseline Walking Distance at 8 weeks
Waist circumference	Waist circumference measured with a measuring tape	Change from Baseline Waist Circumference at 8 weeks
Body mass	Body mass measured with a scale	Change from Baseline Body Mass at 8 weeks
Resting heart rate	Heart rate at rest measured with a heart rate monitor	Change from Baseline Resting Heart Rate at 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Saskatchewan
• Collaborators: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Publications and helpful links

General 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.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 15, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 15, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 8, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 9, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): May 13, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 10, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 6, 2021
• Last Verified: February 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Hypertension
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1133

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No