Acute Effects of Structured Exercise and Static Stretching on Vascular Function, Neuromuscular Performance, and Metabolic Regulation in Adults

April 26, 2026 updated by: Ewan Thomas, University of Palermo

Acute Effects of Structured Physical Exercise and Static Passive Stretching on Vascular Function, Neuromuscular Performance, and Metabolic Regulation: A Randomized Crossover Study

This experimental study investigates the acute cardiovascular and vascular responses to a single session of resistance training, with and without additional static stretching, compared with a resting control condition. Participants are allocated to one of three groups (control, resistance training, resistance training plus static stretching) and assessed at baseline, immediately after the session, and 30 minutes post-exercise. Primary outcomes include blood pressure and other hemodynamic or functional measures, in order to explore the short-term impact of these exercise modalities on cardiovascular regulation.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

27

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

  • Italy
      • Palermo, Italy, 90144
        • University of Palermo

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • healthy male participants ≥ 18 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

  • orthopedic disorders
  • neurological disorders
  • metabolic disorders
  • cardovascular disorders

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: RT
Resistance Training
Other: Resistance Training
Participants assigned to this group will complete a single supervised upper body resistance training session. The protocol includes bench presses and bicep curls performed at 80% of the individual's 1-rep max, for 4 sets of 8 reps, with standardized rest intervals between sets of 2 minutes. The total duration of the session is approximately 20-30 minutes and does not include any additional static stretching beyond the standardized warm-up.
Experimental: RT+SS
Resistance training + Static stretching
Other: Resistance training + Static Stretching
Participants assigned to this group will complete a single supervised upper body resistance training session. The protocol includes bench presses and bicep curls performed at 80% of the individual's 1-rep max, for 4 sets of 8 reps, with standardized rest intervals between sets of 2 minutes. The total duration of the session is approximately 20-25 minutes .Immediately after the resistance exercises, they will complete a structured static stretching protocol targeting the trained muscle groups (pectoralis and elbow flexors), with each stretch held for about 30 seconds and repeated for several sets. The additional stretching lasts 12 minutes, for a total session duration of about 35-40 minutes.
No Intervention: CC
Control Condition --> participants sat silently on a chair without performing any train

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Flow Mediated Dilation(FMD%)
Time Frame: 3 times (Baseline, immediately after intervantion and 30 minutes after intervention) for each condition (CC, RT, RT+ST)
Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) will be assessed using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound (Esaote MyLab X1 GO, linear transducer) during a standardized forearm cuff occlusion protocol. Baseline diameter will be recorded for 60 seconds prior to cuff deflation. Reactive hyperemia will be induced by 5-minutes arterial occlusion followed by cuff release, with continuous diameter recording for 3 minutes post-deflation to identify peak diameter.
3 times (Baseline, immediately after intervantion and 30 minutes after intervention) for each condition (CC, RT, RT+ST)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Palermo

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 (Actual)

December 15, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 10, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

March 10, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 24, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 28, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 26, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 353/2025

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

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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