An interventional study of Upper-Limb Resistance Training in Spinal Cord Injury, sponsored by Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in South Korea. Open to participants aged 19 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-03.
Sponsored by Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The purpose of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether an 8-week upper-limb resistance training program improves cardiovascular autonomic function in adults with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). The primary objectives are to determine whether upper-limb resistance training improves heart rate variability (HRV) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), and whether it improves blood pressure responses during postural change, upper-limb strength, symptoms related to orthostatic hypotension, and quality of life.
Participants will be randomly assigned to either the resistance training group or the control group. All participants will complete assessments before and after the 8-week study period, including measurements of HRV, BRS, blood pressure responses during a tilt-table test, hand grip strength, and questionnaires assessing orthostatic hypotension symptoms and quality of life. Participants assigned to the resistance training group will participate in supervised upper-limb resistance training three times per week for 8 weeks.
SCI can impair cardiovascular autonomic function by disrupting the neural pathways that regulate heart rate and blood pressure. As a result, many individuals with SCI experience cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, including orthostatic hypotension, which may increase cardiovascular health risks.
Although exercise is recommended for people with SCI, previous studies have mainly focused on aerobic exercise and have demonstrated inconsistent effects on cardiovascular autonomic function. Upper-limb resistance training is widely used in rehabilitation to improve strength and functional independence, but its effects on autonomic function have not been well established.
This randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether an 8-week upper-limb resistance training program improves cardiovascular autonomic function in adults with chronic SCI. The study will assess changes in HRV and BRS, while also exploring changes in orthostatic blood pressure responses, upper-limb strength, orthostatic hypotension symptoms, and quality of life. The findings may provide evidence supporting upper-limb resistance training as a rehabilitation strategy to improve cardiovascular autonomic function in individuals with chronic SCI.
2,025 studies on the registry are indexed under Spinal Cord Injuries; 537 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 20 is below the median of 24 across 1,633 interventional studies indexed under Spinal Cord Injuries.
Browse Spinal Cord Injuries studies →Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital is the lead sponsor of 108 studies on the registry; 27 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants will receive a supervised upper-limb resistance training program three times per week for 8 weeks. The program consists of progressive resistance exercises for the upper extremities.
Behavioral: Upper-Limb Resistance Training
Participants will continue their usual daily activities without participating in the resistance training program during the 8-week study period.
Participants will perform a supervised upper-limb resistance training program three times per week for 8 weeks. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes and consist of progressive resistance exercises for the upper extremities. Exercise intensity will be progressively adjusted according to each participant's tolerance.
Heart Rate Variability
Heart rate variability will be assessed to evaluate changes in cardiovascular autonomic function following the 8-week intervention.
Time frame: Baseline and Week 8
Baroreflex Sensitivity
Baroreflex sensitivity will be assessed to evaluate changes in cardiovascular autonomic function following the 8-week intervention.
Time frame: Baseline and Week 8
Orthostatic Hypotension
Orthostatic hypotension will be assessed by changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (ΔSBP and ΔDBP) during postural change using a tilt table. Orthostatic hypotension will be defined as a decrease in systolic blood pressure of ≥20 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure of ≥10 mmHg.
Time frame: Baseline and Week 8
Grip Strength
Grip strength will be measured using a hand dynamometer to evaluate changes in upper-limb muscle strength following the intervention.
Time frame: Baseline and Week 8
Orthostatic Hypotension Symptoms (ADFSCI)
Orthostatic hypotension-related symptoms will be assessed using the orthostatic hypotension items of the Autonomic Dysfunction Following Spinal Cord Injury (ADFSCI) questionnaire.
Time frame: Baseline and Week 8
Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF)
Quality of life will be assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire.
Time frame: Baseline and Week 8
Plan to share: No
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