Recruiting

Exhausting Exercise

Sponsor:

State University of New York at Buffalo

Code:

NCT06475339

Conditions

Hyperthermia

Fatigue; Heat

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 39

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

30/30 work/rest cycle

30/20 work/rest cycle

40/30 work/rest cycle

20/12 work/rest cycle

Study Details

Brief summary:

The overall goal of this project is to identify a work/rest cycle that allows for faster mission completion needed in emergency situations, compared to current Army heat guidance, while mitigating heat strain and neuromuscular fatigue. This project will determine the trade-off between faster mission completion and risk of heat strain and physical performance decrements. Completion of this project will allow military leaders to make informed decisions by understanding the impact of their choices on the magnitude of physical performance decrements and expected heat casualties, setting up hot weather missions for success.

Conditions

Hyperthermia

Fatigue; Heat

Study ID

NCT06475339

Start date

Nov 1, 2024

Status verified date

Jan, 2026

Completion date

Mar, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Mar, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 39

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy individuals
  • Physically active

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of cardiovascular, metabolic (such as clinical thyroid disease), respiratory, neural, or renal disease
  • Hypertensive (systolic blood pressure > 139 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure > 89 mmHg) or tachycardic (heart rate > 100 bpm) during the screening visit
  • Taking medications or supplements known to effect physiologic responses to exercise or thermoregulation (e.g., beta blockers, omega-3 fatty acids, statins, aspirin)
  • Tobacco or nicotine use currently or in the past six months
  • Musculoskeletal injury expected to impact exercise in the protocol
  • A positive pregnancy test at any point in the study
  • Study physician discretion based on any other medical condition or medication
  • Inability to understand or follow instructions or the protocol
  • Gastrointestinal disease or previous surgery prohibiting core temperature capsule use. Participants with a contraindication can opt to insert the pill rectally as a suppository.

Study Design

Enrollment

24 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

active comparator: 30/30 work/rest cycle first

Participants will first complete the 30/30 work/rest cycle, and then complete the other three conditions in a randomized fashion

experimental: 30/20 work/rest cycle first

Participants will first complete the 30/20 work/rest cycle, and then complete the other three conditions in a randomized fashion

experimental: 40/30 work/rest cycle first

Participants will first complete the 40/30 work/rest cycle, and then complete the other three conditions in a randomized fashion

experimental: 20/12 work/rest cycle first

Participants will first complete the 20/12 work/rest cycle, and then complete the other three conditions in a randomized fashion

Interventions

30/30 work/rest cycle

Participants will walk on a treadmill while wearing a weighted backpack to a work/rest cycle of 30 minutes of work followed by 30 minutes of rest.

30/20 work/rest cycle

Participants will walk on a treadmill while wearing a weighted backpack to a work/rest cycle of 30 minutes of work followed by 20 minutes of rest.

40/30 work/rest cycle

Participants will walk on a treadmill while wearing a weighted backpack to a work/rest cycle of 40 minutes of work followed by 30 minutes of rest.

20/12 work/rest cycle

Participants will walk on a treadmill while wearing a weighted backpack to a work/rest cycle of 20 minutes of work followed by 12 minutes of rest.

Primary outcome measure

  • Core temperature [ Time Frame: 180 minutes of work ]
  • Isometric mid-thigh pull strength [ Time Frame: 180 minutes of work ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Riana R Pryor, PhD

7168295456rpryor@buffalo.edu

Locations

Center for Research and Education in Special Environments

Recruiting

Buffalo, New York, United States, 14214

Contacts

Riana R Pryor, PhD, ATC

716-829-5456RPryor@buffalo.edu

More Information

Sponsor

State University of New York at Buffalo

Last update posted

Jan 26, 2026

Last verified

Jan, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by State University of New York at Buffalo on 2026-01-26.