Recreational Team Handball Programme for Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease
Key facts
- Who runs it
- University Institute of Maia
- Where
- Portugal1 site in 1 countryChoose a country to see its sites
- Trial code
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- People taking part
- 60 people, planned
- Started
- 14 May 2026
- Expected to end
- 1 Jul 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets no study treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Recreational team handball programme
- Record updated
- 13 May 2026
Who can take part
- Age
- 60 years to 80 years
- Sex
- Men only
- Healthy volunteers
- Cannot take part
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 17 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- 60-80-year-old males
- Diagnosed with stage II LEPAD secondary to arteriosclerosis
- Ankle-brachial index < 0.90 in one or both lower limbs
- With or without former revascularization surgery
- With medical clearance from the physician to perform moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise
Who cannot take part
- Previous amputation surgery
- Advanced retinopathy or kidney failure
- Other cardiovascular disease (heart failure, atrial fibrillation, valvular heart disease, unstable angina or other uncontrolled arrhythmias, obstructive coronary disease, acquired or advance heart block)
- Uncontrolled hypertension
- History of major depression or other severe psychiatric disorders
- Cancer
- Severe hepatic impairment
- Diagnosed with stage I, III or IV LEPAD
- Incapability to grab a ball
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Foot ulcers
- Adherence to regular physical activity or exercise (>2 hours and half per week) in the last 6 months
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 60 and 80 years old?
This trial has no sites in United States.
It has sites in one country. Choose a country to see its sites.
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to evaluate the physical and physiological demands, the feasibility and the health, physical fitness and disease-specific outcomes of a progressive recreational team handball-based programme in patients with lower extremity peripheral arterial disease and intermittent claudication. The primary outcomes will be changes in functional capacity, assessed by the 6-minute walk test. Participants will be randomized to either a 24-week progressive team handball-based intervention or a usual care control group, with assessments performed at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks post intervention to evaluate health, physical fitness, and disease- specific outcomes.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Intervention groupTreatment being tested
Participants allocated to the intervention group will undertake a 24-week progressive recreational handball programme performed three times per week, with each session lasting 40-60 minutes, under the supervision of qualified sports education graduates and members of the research team. The intervention is divided into two sequential phases to ensure safe progression. During the first 12 weeks, participants will partake in walking handball training sessions, followed by 12 weeks of recreational team handball.
Treatment: Recreational team handball programme
- Usual care/control groupNo study treatment, for comparison
Participants allocated to the control group will continue receiving usual medical care in accordance with standard clinical practice. Furthermore, participants will be advised to maintain their current lifestyle and physical activity habits for the duration of the study. No supervised exercise programme will be provided by the research team during the 24-week intervention period. Following the final 24-week assessments, control group participants will be offered the opportunity to participate in the progressive recreational handball programme.
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- RUSH (Rehabilitation Using Sequential Handball): Promoting Health in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease With Intermittent Claudication Through a Progressive Recreational Team Handball-based Programme
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT07582588, who can take part
- Record updated
- 13 May 2026