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CompletedNCT02276079Updated Dec 4, 2018

The Effect of Exercise on Neurorecovery Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

An interventional study of Aerobic Exercise and Non-Aerobic Exercise in Brain Concussion, sponsored by University of Florida. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 40 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-12-04.

Sponsored by University of Florida · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
39
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 40 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The study is a "proof-of-principle" project to examine the safety and feasibility of implementing a 1-week aerobic exercise program in the post-acute phase after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The study will define the extent to which the exercise program improves recovery from mTBI in terms of relevant functional outcomes (cognition, mood, and physical status) and biomarkers (peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF] concentration).

Read the detailed description

This is a "proof-of-principle" project for human subjects to examine the safety and feasibility of implementing a 1-week aerobic exercise program in the post-acute phase after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This study will define the extent to which the exercise program improves recovery from mTBI in terms of relevant functional outcomes (cognition, mood, and physical status) and biomarkers (peripheral brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF] concentration). This project will also lay the foundation for understanding the relationship between exercise and BDNF in the area of mTBI neurorecovery, thereby allowing future studies to develop best-practice methods for implementing exercise interventions as a treatment option for brain injuries.

02

Conditions studied

  • Brain Concussion

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Keywords

  • Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Aerobic Exercise
  • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
03

In context

Brain Concussion

550 studies on the registry are indexed under Brain Concussion; 154 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 39 is below the median of 64 across 376 interventional studies indexed under Brain Concussion.

Browse Brain Concussion studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Florida is the lead sponsor of 1,285 studies on the registry; 199 are open to participants now.

Of its 177 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 141 (80%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 40 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Eligibility criteria

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) group:

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Meet criteria for mTBI as set forth by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
  • mTBI was sustained 14-25 days before beginning the exercise intervention

Exclusion Criteria:

  • comorbid orthopaedic injury that inhibits movement
  • history of serious psychiatric disturbance with hospitalization,
  • prior history of neurologic disease,
  • current or past history of substance abuse disorder,
  • diabetes
  • previous history of moderate or severe head injury,
  • neurological disorder unrelated to TBI (e.g., seizure disorder)
  • physician recommendations against exercise
  • non-English speakers

Non-injured Group:

Inclusion Criteria:

- Gainesville, Florida community member

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of mTBI or other brain injury in the past year
  • comorbid orthopaedic injury that inhibits movement
  • history of serious psychiatric disturbance with hospitalization,
  • prior history of neurologic disease,
  • current or past history of substance abuse disorder,
  • diabetes
  • previous history of moderate or severe head injury,
  • neurological disorder unrelated to TBI (e.g., seizure disorder)
  • physician recommendations against exercise
  • non-English speakers
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Enrollment
39 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    mTBI Aerobic Exercise Group

    Participants are two-three weeks post-mild traumatic brain injury are randomized to receive a daily aerobic exercise intervention lasting 1-week.

    Behavioral: Aerobic Exercise

  • Experimental
    mTBI Non-Aerobic Exercise Group

    Participants are two-three weeks post-mild traumatic brain injury are randomized to receive a daily non-aerobic exercise intervention lasting 1-week.

    Behavioral: Non-Aerobic Exercise

  • No intervention
    Non-injured Reference Group

    Non-injured, healthy participants will serve as a reference group for functional outcome measures.

Interventions

  • BehavioralAerobic Exercise

    Aerobic exercise will consist of riding a stationary bicycle at moderate intensity for 2 consecutive, 20-minute periods with a 5-minute break in between. Moderate intensity is defined as maintaining 65-75% of estimated maximum heart rate based on the calculation (HRmax = 208 - 0.7 × age).

  • BehavioralNon-Aerobic Exercise

    Non-Aerobic exercise will consist of very low-intensity movements including static stretching and toning exercises.Participants will complete 2 consecutive, 20-minute periods with a 5-minute break in between, mirroring the aerobic exercise condition. Heart rate will be monitored by research staff to ensure that it remains below 50% of estimated maximum heart rate.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Symptom Score on the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3)

    Obtained from the 22-item symptom evaluation included in the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3). The participant's present experience of each symptom is rated on a likert scale from 0 (none) to 6 (severe). The symptom score represents how many symptoms the participant endorses experiencing at a level greater than 0 (maximum 22 points).

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  2. Change in Symptom Severity on the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3)

    Symptom evaluation included in the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3). The participant's present experience of each symptom is rated on a likert scale from 0 (none) to 6 (severe). The symptom severity represents the total summed severity ratings for all symptoms (maximum 132 points).

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  3. Change in sleep quality

    Obtained from the Medical Outcomes Sleep Scale (MOS). This measure has 12 items and asks the participant to rate different aspects of their sleep experiences and sleep quality. The first two questions inquire about sleep times and the remaining questions utilize a likert scale ranging from 1 (all of the time) to 6 (none of the time). Some items are reverse scored and the scale yields several subscale measures, so scoring rules depend on the specific subscale.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  4. Change in postural stability

    The Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) will be used to measure postural stability, which is sensitive to deficits in balance following mild head injury. A modified version of (SCAT3) will be used. It includes three different stances, double leg, single leg, and tandem stance. A point is added for committing an error during the test interval and if the participant is unable to maintain his or her balance for more than 5 seconds, the trial is discontinued and maximum points are awarded. The total score ranges from 0 (better postural stability) to 30 (worse postural stability).

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  5. Change in verbal learning and memory

    Measured by the California Verbal Learning Test, 2nd Edition (CVLT-II). This test measures word recall and assesses the following skills: immediate recall, short delay free recall, short delay cued recall, long delay free recall, long delay cued recall, and long delay recognition.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  6. Change in auditory-linguistic memory

    Measured by the Wechsler Memory Scale, 3rd Edition (WMS-III), Logical Memory subtests. Two stories are read to participants and then they are asked to freely recall items after a short and a long delay. A recognition trial is administered following the long delay.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  7. Change in word-fluency

    Measured by the Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA). Participants are asked to say as many words beginning with a specified letter as they can in a one minute time period. Three trials with different letters are administered.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  8. Change in semantic fluency

    Measured by the Verbal Fluency Test - Categories. Participants are asked to say as many items belonging to a specified semantic category as they can in a one minute time period.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  9. Change in psychomotor/executive functioning

    Measured by the Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning System (D-KEFS), Trail Making Test. The test consists of five different conditions where participants are asked to draw trails according to specified rules.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  10. Change in problem solving and abstract reasoning

    Measured by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Initially, a number of stimulus cards are presented to the participant. The participant is told to match the cards, but not how to match; however, he or she is told whether a particular match is right or wrong. A total of 128 cards are played.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  11. Change in attention

    Measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd Edition (WAIS-III), Digit Span subtest. Participants are asked to repeat digit strings that are verbally administered exactly as they hear them (digits forward) or to repeat them backwards (digits backward).

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  12. Change in processing speed

    Measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd Edition (WAIS-III), Digit Symbol-Coding subtest. Participants are given three minutes to draw symbols as quickly and as accurately as possible according to a key code.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  13. Change in visual memory

    Measured by the Wechsler Memory Scale, 3rd Edition (WMS-III), Visual Reproduction subtest. Participants are asked to draw abstract figures from memory at different time intervals. The subtest assesses the following visual memory skills: immediate free recall, long delayed free recall and a long delayed recognition.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  14. Change in sustained and selective attention

    Measured by the Ruff 2 \& 7 Selective Attention Test. The test consists of a series of 20 trials of a visual search and cancellation task. The participant detects and marks through all occurrences of the two target digits: "2" and "7." In the 10 Automatic Detection trials, the target digits are embedded among alphabetical letters that serve as distractors. In the 10 Controlled Search trials, the target digits are embedded among other numbers that serve as distractors. Correct hits and errors are counted for each trial and serve as the basis for scoring the test.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  15. Change in working memory and attention

    Measured by the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). Participants are read a series of numbers at specified time intervals. The participants are instructed to add the number to the preceding number and continue adding them together until the end of the trial. Four trials with 50 items each are administered with a 30 second break in between.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  16. Change in depression symptoms

    Measured by the Beck Depression Inventory, 2nd Edition (BDI-II), which is a self-report questionnaire with 21 multiple choice items. The total score ranges from 0 to 63 with higher numbers indicating greater severity of depression symptoms.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  17. Change in anxiety symptoms

    Measured by the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), which is a self-report questionnaire with 40 questions on a 4-point likert scale. The STAI measures two types of anxiety - state and trait scores. Higher scores are positively correlated with higher levels of anxiety.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in functional neuroimaging activation

    Functional resting state sequences will be performed on the Phillips 3 tesla magnetic resonance (MR) research scanner.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  2. Change in Symptom Score on the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3)

    Obtained from the 22-item symptom evaluation included in the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3). The participant's present experience of each symptom is rated on a likert scale from 0 (none) to 6 (severe). The symptom score represents how many symptoms the participant endorses experiencing at a level greater than 0 (maximum 22 points).

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 70

  3. Change in Symptom Severity on the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3)

    Symptom evaluation included in the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT3). The participant's present experience of each symptom is rated on a likert scale from 0 (none) to 6 (severe). The symptom severity represents the total summed severity ratings for all symptoms (maximum 132 points).

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 70

  4. Change in sleep quality

    Obtained from the Medical Outcomes Sleep Scale (MOS). This measure has 12 items and asks the participant to rate different aspects of their sleep experiences and sleep quality. The first two questions inquire about sleep times and the remaining questions utilize a likert scale ranging from 1 (all of the time) to 6 (none of the time).

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 70

  5. Change in postural stability

    The Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) will be used to measure postural stability, which is sensitive to deficits in balance following mild head injury. A modified version of (SCAT3) will be used. It includes three different stances, double leg, single leg, and tandem stance. A point is added for committing an error during the test interval and if the participant is unable to maintain his or her balance for more than 5 seconds, the trial is discontinued and maximum points are awarded. The total score ranges from 0 (better postural stability) to 30 (worse postural stability).

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 70

  6. Change in depression symptoms

    Measured by the Beck Depression Inventory, 2nd Edition (BDI-II), which is a self-report questionnaire with 21 multiple choice items. The total score ranges from 0 to 63 with higher numbers indicating greater severity of depression symptoms.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 70

  7. Change in anxiety symptoms

    Measured by the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), which is a self-report questionnaire with 40 questions on a 4-point likert scale. The STAI measures two types of anxiety - state and trait scores. Higher scores are positively correlated with higher levels of anxiety.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 70

Other outcomes

  1. Change in aerobic fitness

    Measured by the 3-Minute Step Test, which provides an estimate of aerobic fitness. Participants step up and down continuously on a 12-inch step for 3 minutes and the time it takes for their heart rate to return to baseline is recorded.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  2. Change in body weight

    Body weight measured in kilograms.

    Time frame: Baseline and up to day 8

  3. Minutes of physical activity outside of exercise program

    Average number of minutes the participant spent engaging in physical activity outside of the exercise sessions during the one-week exercise program. This will be measured by a digital fitness monitor that will be worn 24 hours per day during the 7 day exercise program.

    Time frame: Day 7 of exercise program

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University of Florida Health Science Center
    Gainesville, Florida 32610, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Cassidy JD, Carroll LJ, Peloso PM, Borg J, von Holst H, Holm L, Kraus J, Coronado VG; WHO Collaborating Centre Task Force on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Incidence, risk factors and prevention of mild traumatic brain injury: results of the WHO Collaborating Centre Task Force on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. J Rehabil Med. 2004 Feb;(43 Suppl):28-60. doi: 10.1080/16501960410023732. PubMed 15083870 ↗
  • Barkhoudarian G, Hovda DA, Giza CC. The molecular pathophysiology of concussive brain injury. Clin Sports Med. 2011 Jan;30(1):33-48, vii-iii. doi: 10.1016/j.csm.2010.09.001. PubMed 21074080 ↗
  • Prins ML, Alexander D, Giza CC, Hovda DA. Repeated mild traumatic brain injury: mechanisms of cerebral vulnerability. J Neurotrauma. 2013 Jan 1;30(1):30-8. doi: 10.1089/neu.2012.2399. PubMed 23025820 ↗
  • Griesbach GS, Gomez-Pinilla F, Hovda DA. Time window for voluntary exercise-induced increases in hippocampal neuroplasticity molecules after traumatic brain injury is severity dependent. J Neurotrauma. 2007 Jul;24(7):1161-71. doi: 10.1089/neu.2006.0255. PubMed 17610355 ↗
  • Bigler ED. Neuropsychology and clinical neuroscience of persistent post-concussive syndrome. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2008 Jan;14(1):1-22. doi: 10.1017/S135561770808017X. PubMed 18078527 ↗
  • Griesbach GS, Hovda DA, Gomez-Pinilla F. Exercise-induced improvement in cognitive performance after traumatic brain injury in rats is dependent on BDNF activation. Brain Res. 2009 Sep 8;1288:105-15. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.06.045. Epub 2009 Jun 23. PubMed 19555673 ↗
  • Coelho FG, Gobbi S, Andreatto CA, Corazza DI, Pedroso RV, Santos-Galduroz RF. Physical exercise modulates peripheral levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF): a systematic review of experimental studies in the elderly. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2013 Jan-Feb;56(1):10-5. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2012.06.003. Epub 2012 Jun 29. PubMed 22749404 ↗
  • Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2001 Jan;37(1):153-6. doi: 10.1016/s0735-1097(00)01054-8. PubMed 11153730 ↗
  • Dunn AL, Trivedi MH, Kampert JB, Clark CG, Chambliss HO. The DOSE study: a clinical trial to examine efficacy and dose response of exercise as treatment for depression. Control Clin Trials. 2002 Oct;23(5):584-603. doi: 10.1016/s0197-2456(02)00226-x. PubMed 12392873 ↗
  • Efird J. Blocked randomization with randomly selected block sizes. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2011 Jan;8(1):15-20. doi: 10.3390/ijerph8010015. Epub 2010 Dec 23. PubMed 21318011 ↗
  • Harris PA, Taylor R, Thielke R, Payne J, Gonzalez N, Conde JG. Research electronic data capture (REDCap)--a metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support. J Biomed Inform. 2009 Apr;42(2):377-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jbi.2008.08.010. Epub 2008 Sep 30. PubMed 18929686 ↗
  • Riemann BL, Guskiewicz KM. Effects of mild head injury on postural stability as measured through clinical balance testing. J Athl Train. 2000 Jan;35(1):19-25. PubMed 16558603 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 4, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02276079
Collaborators
Clinical & Translational Science Institute, American Psychological Foundation, American Psychological Association (APA)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Oct 27, 2014
Start date
Feb 17, 2015
Primary completion
Dec 22, 2016
Completion
Dec 22, 2016
Last update
Dec 4, 2018

Study contacts

Russell M. Bauer, Ph.D.
principal investigator · University of Florida
Aliyah R. Snyder, M.S.
study director · University of Florida

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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