WB-EMS Effects on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

May 11, 2026 updated by: University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Medical School

Effects of Intensive Muscle Training on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors - a Randomised Controlled Study

From the age of 50 onwards, there is a disproportionate decline in muscle strength, mass and function, which can be prevented or at least delayed by physical training. Unfortunately, many training programmes are very time-consuming and strenuous and are therefore not carried out consistently. Whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS), a technology in which all major muscle groups are stimulated with an adjusted stimulation level, could be a time-effective and joint-friendly alternative.

However, there are some contraindications to the widespread use of this technology, which are particularly common in middle-aged and elderly people. For example, high blood pressure, which affects more than half of men over the age of 50 in Germany, is considered a contraindication for WB-EMS training. However, this assessment is not very reliable; at least, acute WB-EMS application does not lead to an increase in blood pressure. In addition, there are no study results available for long-term WB-EMS application in people with high blood pressure.

The present study particularly investigate whether and to what extent several weeks of WB-EMS training has an effect on resting blood pressure in people with mild blood pressure. Additionally, the effect of WB-EMS on other cardiometabolic risk factors and physical function will be addressed.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

28

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

  • Germany
      • Erlangen, Germany, 91052
        • Faculty of Medicine, University of Tuebingen
      • Erlangen, Germany, 91054
        • Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen

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
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Grade 1 hypertension: systolic 140 and/or diastolic 90 mmHg
  • overweight or obese (body mass index > 25 kg/m2)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • blood pressure-lowering pharmacologic therapy.
  • WB-EMS application and regular resistance exercise training
  • Conditions and illnesses that preclude intensive physical exertion
  • Severe cardiac arrhythmia
  • Heart failure
  • acute pulmonary embolism
  • acute myocarditis
  • severe hypertension, e.g. blood pressure > 200 mmHg systolic and/or >110 mmHg diastolic
  • Contraindications for bioimpedance analysis (e.g. pacemaker)
  • Contraindications for WB-EMS application (e.g. acute infections/fever, epilepsy)

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Whole-body electromyostimulation
12 weeks of Whole-body electromyostimulation, 1.5x 20min/week
Other: WB-EMS
12 weeks of WB-EMS, 1.5x20 min/week
Other Names:
  • Electromyostimulation
Other: Control group
12 weeks without additional intervention.
Other: Control
12 weeks without additional intervention and without life style changes
Other Names:
  • Non-intervention control group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Resting blood pressure
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes of mean arterial blood pressure after 10 min of rest in a sitting position as assessed by an automatic sphygmomanometer
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Metabolic syndrome
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes of the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) as determined by the MetS-Z-Score
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Body fat rate
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes of body fat rate as determined by Bio Impedance Analysis (BIA)
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Lean body mass
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes of lean body mass as determined by Bio Impedance Analysis (BIA)
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Maximum muscle strength
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12weeks of intervention
Changes of maximum hip-/leg extension strength as determined by a leg press
At baseline and after 12weeks of intervention
Aerobic capacity
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes of aerobic capacity as determined by a stepwise crosstrainer test to submaximum exertion
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Lower extremity muscle power
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes of lower extremity muscle power as determined by a 5times sit to stand test
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Adverse effects
Time Frame: From baseline assessment to 12 week control assessment (during the intervention)
All categories of adverse effects as determined by structured monthly telephone interview
From baseline assessment to 12 week control assessment (during the intervention)
Concentration of inflammatory markers
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes of inflammatory markers as determined by cytokines
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Concentration of adipose-tissue derived hormones
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes of adipose tissue-derived hormones as determined by adipokines
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Concentration of muscle-tissue derived hormones
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes of muscle-tissue derived hormones as determined by myokines
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Bluthochdruck - Fragebogen zur Lebenszufriedenheit [Hypertension - Quality of Life Questionnaire]
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes in QoL in people with hypertension according to a questionnaire from 1 (excellent, completely agree) to 6 (very bad/completely disagree). Lower scores indicate better outcomes
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Time Frame: At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention
Changes in sleep quality according to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire on a scale from 1 (worst outcome) to 4 (best outcome). Higher scores indicate better sleep quality.
At baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Medical School

Collaborators

Universität Tübingen

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Wolfgang Kemmler, PhD, Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen, Germany

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 (Actual)

February 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 11, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • EMS-KHK

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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