What this means
This trial is testing whether heat pads on the legs can improve muscle, movement, and blood sugar. It compares heat to a hard exercise program called HIIT. The trial has not reported results yet, so it does not show whether heat works.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the registry listing.
- Status
- Recruiting
- Who can join
- Ages 50 and over
- Where
- 1 site, including Texas
The science
- Registered title
- Heat and Exercise in Aging as Therapy (HEAT)
- Trial ID
- NCT06580964 ↗
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Study type
- interventional
- Conditions
- Prediabetic State
- What is tested
- Heat therapy, High-intensity interval training
- Sponsor
- Texas Tech University
- Ages
- 50 Years to no maximum
- Dates
- First posted Aug 30, 2024 · updated Jun 23, 2026
Registry summary
The main goal of this two-phase clinical trial is to learn whether local heat therapy, using heat pads applied to the legs, can enhance skeletal muscle health, physical function, and blood sugar control in a manner comparable to exercise, specifically High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), in older individuals with prediabetes. The study aims to answer the following questions:
- Does local heat therapy improve muscle architecture (e.g., muscle cross-sectional area, capillary density, mitochondrial content), glucose tolerance, and frailty indicators similarly to HIIT in older individuals with prediabetes?
- Does local heat therapy as a pre-conditioning method enhance the skeletal muscle response to HIIT in older individuals with prediabetes?
Sites (1)
- Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States