Stretching vs Walking for Lowering Blood Pressure

Is Stretching Superior to Aerobic Training 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). 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.

Study Overview

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

Detailed Description

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a prevalent and leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke afflicting seven million people in Canada and costing our health system approximately $20 billion annually. The prevailing exercise recommendation for people with hypertension is to perform aerobic training (i.e. brisk walking) as a non-pharmacological way to moderately reduce blood pressure. Evidence from several recent studies indicates flexibility training may accrue more positive changes in blood pressure than aerobic training. Additional recent studies show stretching can reduce arterial stiffness and sympathetic nervous system activation, suggesting physiological mechanisms by which blood pressure might be reduced through exercises designed mostly to improve flexibility. The purpose of this study is to determine if a 6-month flexibility program is superior to aerobic training for reducing 24-hour blood pressure measurements, improving measures of vascular function (i.e. arterial stiffness), and improving the ratio of parasympathetic to sympathetic nervous system activation. This study involves a randomized controlled trial of 96 men and women presenting with either high-normal blood pressure (systolic 130 to 139 mmHg or diastolic 85 to 89 mmHg) or stage 1 hypertension (systolic 140 to 159 mmHg or diastolic 90 to 99 mmHg) stratified by blood pressure (i.e. either high normal or stage 1 hypertension), sex, and age (≥55y or <55y) and randomized to one of two groups for six months duration: 1) a flexibility program (30 minutes of stretching per day); or 2) an aerobic training program (30 minutes of brisk walking per day). Assessments pre- and post-intervention and three months later include: 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, arterial stiffness, and heart rate variability. .

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 96
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: John Ko, M.Sc.; Phone Number: 306-966-1082; Email: jongbum.ko@usask.ca
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Philip Chilibeck, Ph.D.; Phone Number: 306-966-1072; Email: phil.chilibeck@usask.ca

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Saskatchewan
    • Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N5B2
      • Recruiting
      • University of Saskatchewan
      • Contact: John Ko, M.Sc.; Phone Number: 306-966-1186; Email: jongbum.ko@usask.ca

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 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

Exclusion Criteria:

• 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

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 (30-45 minutes, 5 days per week, 6 months)
Experimental: Walking	Other: Walking exercise; Walking (30-45 minutes, 5 days per week, 6 months)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
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 Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Day time systolic and diastolic blood pressure	Blood pressure assessed during the day with an automated device	Change from baseline day time blood pressure at 6 months
Sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressure	Blood pressure assessed while sitting	Change from baseline sitting blood pressure at 6 months
Lying systolic and diastolic blood pressure	Blood pressure assessed while lying supine	Change from baseline lying blood pressure at 6 months
Arterial stiffness	Arterial stiffness assessed with aplanation tonometry	Change from baseline arterial stiffness at 6 months
Heart rate variability	Heart rate variability assessed with electrocardiography	Change from baseline heart rate variability at 6 months
Hamstrings flexibility	Hamstrings flexibility assessed with a sit-and-reach test	Change from baseline hamstrings flexibiliity at 6 months
Shoulder flexibility	Shoulder flexibility assessed with a goniometer	Change from baseline shoulder flexibility at 6 months
Peak oxygen consumption	Peak oxygen consumption assessed with a metabolic cart during a progressive-intensity treadmill test	Change from baseline peak oxygen consumption at 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Saskatchewan
• Collaborators: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Philip Chilibeck, Ph.D., University of Saskatchewan

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 28, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 28, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 12, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): February 23, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 23, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 17, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Hypertension
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2874

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