Acute Physiological Effects of Greek Traditional Dancing

What this trial studies

In Greece, people of different age groups, including young children to older adults, are involved in traditional dance. To date, the well-know benefits of dancing include entertainment, socialization and increased physical activity. However, the acute effects of Greek traditional dancing on health, physical performance and muscle damage indices remain largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this project is to evaluate the acute effect of Greek traditional dancing on health-, physical performance-, and muscle damage-related parameters by considering the impact of dancing tempo (slow vs moderate vs fast).

Conditions in scope

• Menopause
• Cardiovascular Health
• Body Composition
• Physical Performance
• Muscle Damage

Interventions

• Slow tempo (Other) — A single Greek traditional dance of slow tempo lasting 3-4 minutes.
• Moderate tempo (Other) — A single Greek traditional dance of moderate tempo lasting 3-4 minutes.
• Fast tempo (Other) — A single Greek traditional dance of fast tempo lasting 3-4 minutes.

Who can join

Women only · Ages 20 Years to 80 Years · Accepts healthy volunteers.

Inclusion criteria

• Premenopausal and postmenopausal women.
• Abstain from vigorous physical activity and/or exercise during the last (at least) 6 months prior to the study.
• Free of musculoskeletal diseases and injuries.
• Free of cardiometabolic diseases.
• Free of mental health disorders
• No body weight loss \>10% over the last 6 months prior to the study
• Non-smokers

Exclusion criteria

• Perimenopause and menopause women
• Participation vigorous physical activity and/or exercise during the last (at least) 6 months prior to the study
• Presence of musculoskeletal diseases and injuries.
• Presence of cardiometabolic diseases.
• Presence of mental health disorders
• Body weight loss \>10% over the last 6 months prior to the study
• Smokers

Eligibility wording paraphrased from the public record. View the full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov before contacting a site.

Where it’s happening

Status & timeline

• Overall status: Completed
• Study type: Interventional
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: 2024-04-10
• Primary completion: 2025-02-15
• Last update posted: 2025-06-11
• First posted: 2024-02-15

Sponsor & contact

Lead sponsor: University of Thessaly (Other)

For trial site contact information, use the official record at ClinicalTrials.gov. Contact details change frequently and the public record is the source of truth.

Outcome measures

Primary outcomes

• Change in blood pressure (At baseline and immediately after the dance)
  Systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be measured using a blood pressure cuff
• Change in perceived exertion (At baseline and immediately after the dance)
  Perceived exertion will be rated using the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale, a numerical scale that ranges from 6 (no exertion) to 20 (maximum effort).
• Change in blood lactate (At baseline and immediately after the dance)
  Blood lactate will be measured on a portable, automatic lactate analyser using the relevant strips
• Change in resting metabolic rate (At baseline and at 24 hours and 48 hours after the dance)
  Resting metabolic rate (kcal) will be assessed using a portable open-circuit indirect calorimeter with a ventilated hood system
• Change in delayed-onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) (At baseline and at 24 hours and 48 hours after the dance)
  DOMS of the knee extensors and flexors of both limbs will be evaluated by palpation of the relaxed muscle's belly and distal region with participants rating the perceived soreness on a visual analogue scale ranging from 1 to 10.

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