Backpack Weight Impacts

Exertion; Excess Clinical Trial

Official title:

Backpack Weight Impacts on Perceived Exertion and Heart Rate Variability

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04249986
• Other study ID #: 2019126
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 21, 2020
• Est. completion date: June 1, 2025

Study information

• Verified date: June 2023
• Source: University of California, San Francisco
• Contact: Susanne Spano, MD
• Phone: (559)499-6440
• Email: sspano[@]fresno.ucsf.edu
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Backpacking is an increasingly popular outdoor recreational activity. The base pack weight (BPW) includes gear that is not consumed or worn on the body: shelter, sleep system, weather-proofing layers and personal gear to ensure a degree of comfort and safety. As such, reducing BPW is one of the most important tasks a backpacker manages when preparing for a trip. Available recommendations for ideal BPW are currently inconsistent, lack clear parameters, and rely on anecdotal evidence. The study aims to collect field data on perceived exertion and heart rate (HR) in relation to BPW during a day-long interval of hiking. Such findings can have implications on the cost and safety profiles extending from recreational backpacking to military and wilderness rescue operations.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 20
• Est. completion date: June 1, 2025
• Est. primary completion date: January 1, 2025
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Only adult (age 18-65)
• Have gone on at least two overnight backpacking trips in the past 5 years
• Have hiked at least 8 miles in a day on one of those trips

Exclusion Criteria:

• Lower extremity injuries or surgeries in the past 6-months
• Daily Smokers
• Chronic medical problems:
• Hypertension
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Heart attack
• Heart surgery, cardiac catheterization, or coronary angioplasty
• Pacemaker/implantable cardiac defibrillator/rhythm disturbance
• Heart valve disease
• Heart failure
• Heart transplantation
• Congenital heart disease
• Kidney disease
• Back pain

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Exertion; Excess

Intervention

Behavioral:
• The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion
Participants who satisfy the exclusion criteria and health assessment instrument are categorized in the lowest risk group for cardiac events and does not require medical screening for mild to moderate exercise per ACSM guidelines.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	UCSF Fresno	Fresno	California

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of California, San Francisco

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion During the Total Hike	Participants will report their perceived exertion towards the end of both hikes. The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale ranges from 6 to 20. 6 being the lowest score of no exertion and 20 being the highest of maximal exertion.	2 weeks
Secondary	Heart Rate	Difference between participants' heart rate during both 17 and 19 pound base backpack weight.	2 weeks
Secondary	The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion During Incline and Decline Sections of the participant	Participants will report the perceived exertion mid-hike and towards the end. The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale ranges from 6 to 20. 6 being the lowest score of no exertion and 20 being the highest of maximal exertion.	2 weeks