Recruiting

Stretching vs. Walking

Sponsor:

University of Saskatchewan

Code:

NCT05252208

Conditions

Hypertension

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Stretching exercise

Walking exercise

Study Details

Brief summary:

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.

Conditions

Hypertension

Study ID

NCT05252208

Start date

Mar 28, 2022

Status verified date

Apr, 2025

Completion date

Aug 30, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Feb 28, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

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 Design

Enrollment

96 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Stretching

Stretching

experimental: Walking

Walking

Interventions

Stretching exercise

Stretching (30-45 minutes, 5 days per week, 6 months)

Walking exercise

Walking (30-45 minutes, 5 days per week, 6 months)

Primary outcome measure

  • Night time systolic and diastolic blood pressure [ Time Frame: Change from baseline night time blood pressure at 6 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Philip Chilibeck, Ph.D.

306-966-1072phil.chilibeck@usask.ca

John Ko, M.Sc.

306-966-1082jongbum.ko@usask.ca

Locations

University of Saskatchewan

Recruiting

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N5B2

Contacts

John Ko, M.Sc.

306-966-1186jongbum.ko@usask.ca

More Information

Sponsor

University of Saskatchewan

Last update posted

Apr 23, 2025

Last verified

Apr, 2025

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Saskatchewan on 2025-04-23.