Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Indiana University

Code:

NCT06886906

Conditions

Older People

Pain

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 55 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Intermittent light walking

uninterrupted sitting

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effect of brief bouts of intermittent walking on bodily pain, pain during movement, and how the body adapts to musculoskeletal pain in older adults.

Conditions

Older People

Pain

Study ID

NCT06886906

Start date

Nov 13, 2024

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Aug 1, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug 1, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 55 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Community-dwelling men and women
  • Answer yes to the following question: Have you experienced any musculoskeletal pain (pain affecting joints, bones, ligaments, tendons or muscles) in the past month?

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Cardiovascular issues such as uncontrolled blood pressure over 150/99 mmHg, heart failure, or history of acute myocardial infarction;
  • Angina in the last month (squeezing, pressure, heaviness, tightness, or pain in chest)
  • Serious systemic disease or condition (e.g., severe osteoarthritis, injury) that restricts normal daily activities
  • Neurological disease (e.g., Parkinson's Disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy)
  • Serious psychiatric conditions (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) or hospitalization within the preceding year for psychiatric illness
  • Known peripheral neuropathy
  • Chronic opioid use (defined as ≥ 90 days)
  • Unable to walk for 6 minutes without assistive devices

Session exclusion criteria:

• Participants will be asked to not participate in vigorous or unaccustomed exercise 48 hours prior to each study session.

Study Design

Enrollment

40 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Other

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Uninterrupted Sitting for 1 hour

The participant will remain seated throughout the experimental period and will be instructed to minimize excessive movement, only rising from the chair to void. This experimental condition is designed to mimic prolonged uninterrupted sedentary behavior.

experimental: 1 hour of sitting interrupted with 2.5 minute bouts of light intensity walking

Participants will sit as described above with six bouts of 2.5-minutes of light intensity walking (see Figure 2). Overall, the bouts will occur on six occasions, providing a total of 15 minutes of light intensity activity. Participants will be asked to walk at a light intensity based on the 6-20 RPE scale, which corresponds to a 9-11 RPE rating. This experimental condition is designed to mimic sedentary behavior interspersed with frequent short bouts of LPA. RPE and pain intensity (0-100 scale) will be assessed at the end of each walking bout.

Interventions

Intermittent light walking

The participant will remain seated throughout the 1 hour experimental period. During this 1-hour period, participants will complete six bouts of 2.5-minutes of light intensity walking. Overall, the bouts will occur on six occasions, providing a total of 15 minutes of light intensity activity.

uninterrupted sitting

The participant will remain seated throughout the experimental period and will be instructed to minimize excessive movement, only rising from the chair to void. This experimental condition is designed to mimic prolonged uninterrupted sedentary behavior.

Primary outcome measure

  • Mechanical Temporal Summation of Pain (TS) [ Time Frame: Pre and post the 1-hour experimental conditions ]
  • Conditioned Pain Modulation [ Time Frame: Pre and post the 1-hour experimental conditions ]
  • Movement-evoked pain during the 30-second chair stand test [ Time Frame: Will be administered immediately after the 1-hour experimental conditions. ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Kelly M Naugle, PhD

+3172740601kmnaugle@iu.edu

Locations

250 University Blvd

Recruiting

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202

Contacts

Kelly M Naugle, PhD

317-274-0601kmnaugle@iu.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Indiana University

Last update posted

Apr 17, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Keywords

  • physical activity
  • movement evoked pain
  • sitting
  • quantitative sensory testing
  • musculoskeletal pain

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Indiana University on 2026-04-17.