The Role of Fatigue Associated With Strength Training in Exercise-induced Hypoalgesia

NCT07577622 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 27

Last updated 2026-05-11

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Strength exercise is an active and dynamic activity that involves applying force against a resistance. This produces fatigue, seen as a reduced ability to apply force during and after the exercise, and perceived effort, which is a person's subjective feeling of how hard they are working.

Strength exercise can also be used for therapy, as it has many benefits for different parts of the body. One of these is changing how the individual feels pain. It has been shown that doing strength exercises can reduce pain perception, a phenomenon called exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH), although the exact physical reasons and the amount of exercise needed to cause this effect are not yet known.

One of the most studied exercises in this area is the leg extension machine. This is a specific exercise where the legs move freely (open kinetic chain) and the machine guides the movement, which helps keep things stable and limits the effect of other factors. It is usually used to strengthen and grow the muscles in the front of the thigh, especially the quadriceps, but it can also be used to study the effects on EIH.

The main goal of this study is to see if fatigue and perceived effort during strength exercise are important for EIH to happen in healthy people. Participants will complete 3 sessions, at least 7 days apart. These will include a control session and 2 sessions designed to show different levels of fatigue. Before, during, and after the sessions, the investigators will measure pain sensitivity, isometric strength, and perceived effort. Also, there will be a test to find the maximum weight for 10 repetitions and several questionnaires to collect basic info (sex, age, height...), weekly physical activity, experience with strength training, and other factors like sleep quality, stress, and mood. All this information will be completely anonymous when the study results are shared.

Conditions

  • Exercise Induced Hypoalgesia
  • Healthy Adult Volunteer

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Seated leg extension machine: low fatigue

Seated leg extension machine using 10RM external load for 6 sets of 5 repetitions with180 seconds rest between sets and a cadence of 1:2 second concentric:eccentric

BEHAVIORAL

Seated leg extension machine: high fatigue

Seated leg extension machine using 10RM external load for 3 sets of 10 repetitions with 180 seconds rest between sets and a cadence of 1:2 second concentric:eccentric

BEHAVIORAL

Seated leg extension: control

Seated leg extension machine using no external load for 6 sets of 5 repetitions with 180 seconds rest between sets and a cadence of 1:2 second concentric:eccentric

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
45 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-05-15
Primary Completion
2027-06-30
Completion
2027-06-30

Countries

  • Spain

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07577622 on ClinicalTrials.gov