Clinical trial NCT01673958: Stair Descending vs. Stair Ascending Exercise
Official title: The Effect of Stair Descending and Stair Ascending Exercise on Muscle Strength and Performance: the SmartEscalator Device
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Aging
Heart Failure
Sarcopenia
Keywords: Eccentric exercise
Aging
Heart failure
Muscle strength loss
Sarcopenia
Lead sponsor: European University Cyprus
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: University of Thessaly
name: Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki
First posted: 2012-08-28
Enrollment: 12
Sex: MALE
Minimum age (years): 60
Maximum age (years): 70
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: 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.

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.

Eligibility criteria: 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

Primary outcomes:
measure: Muscle strength (torque)
timeFrame: Change from baseline in muscle strength at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Pain free range of motion (degrees)
timeFrame: Before and at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
measure: Creatine kinase, CK (activity IU)
timeFrame: Before and at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
measure: Delayed onset muscle soreness, DOMS (scale 1-10)
timeFrame: Before and at day 2 post exercise at the first and sixth week of training
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Nicosia
country: Cyprus
facility: European University Cyprus
Study officials:
affiliation: Research Centre, European University Cyprus
name: George Panayiotou, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References:
citation: Paschalis V, Nikolaidis MG, Theodorou AA, Panayiotou G, Fatouros IG, Koutedakis Y, Jamurtas AZ. A weekly bout of eccentric exercise is sufficient to induce health-promoting effects. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Jan;43(1):64-73. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181e91d90.