An interventional study of Passive calf muscle stretching device in Peripheral Artery Disease and Claudication, Intermittent, sponsored by Penn State University. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 40 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-02.
Sponsored by Penn State University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this clinical trial is to assess the effects of passive calf muscle stretching in patients diagnosed with peripheral artery disease (PAD). The main question it aims to answer are:
Participants will use inflatable ankle splints for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 4-weeks on both days and 4-weeks of no stretching.
Patients with peripheral artery disease will passively stretch their calf muscles using a stretch device on both feet for 30 minutes a day for 4 weeks. Blood vessel health and size, length and function of the calf muscles and tendons and walking performance will be measured. Joint and foot movements as well as calf muscle oxygen levels will be measured during walking performance tests.
309 studies on the registry are indexed under Intermittent Claudication; 46 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 24 is below the median of 74 across 242 interventional studies indexed under Intermittent Claudication.
Browse Intermittent Claudication studies →Penn State University is the lead sponsor of 270 studies on the registry; 53 are open to participants now.
Of its 15 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 11 (73%) have results posted.
Compared within Intermittent Claudication, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Peripheral Arterial Disease. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
A modified plantar fasciitis ankle splint will be used to passively stretch the calf muscle.
Device: Passive calf muscle stretching device
No device will be used to stretch the calf muscle. Participants will go about their normal daily activity for 4-weeks.
Modified night splints will be used to passive stretch the calf muscle.
Also known as: Plantar fasciitis night splints
6-minute walk test distance
Submaximal exercise test used to assess aerobic capacity and endurance
Time frame: 6-12 minutes
Muscle to tendon ratio
The ratio of gastrocnemius muscle fascicle length to Achilles' tendon length will be measured using ultrasound
Time frame: 45 minutes
Endothelial function
Popliteal flow-mediated dilation will be measured as a index of macrovascular endothelial function in the leg.
Time frame: 30 minutes
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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