The ’SIT and be FIT’ study - Version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effects of seated exercise training on cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with diabetic foot ulcers: A Randomised Controlled Trial
IRAS ID
259860
Contact name
Melanie Davies
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
1056410, Novo Nordisk UK Research Foundation
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The main focus of this research concerns diabetic foot ulcers. The raised blood sugar levels of those with diabetes can cause nerve damage and loss of sensation in the feet. This allows ‘painless’ wounds to go unnoticed and get worse over time. Raised blood sugar levels can also lead to the narrowing of vessels and reduce blood flow to the feet. Loss of foot sensation and reduced blood flow can leave a person with diabetes vulnerable to developing patches of broken skin under the foot that are difficult to heal, these are known as diabetic foot ulcers.\n\nDoctors advise people with diabetic foot ulcers to stay off their feet as much as possible to help heal an ulcer. This often leads to high amounts of sitting time and reduced time spent being physically active which can further worsen their health over time.\n\nKeeping diabetic foot ulcer patients physically active while remaining off their feet is an area of research that is yet to be explored. Our aim is to investigate whether 12 weeks of seated upper-body exercise training using an arm ergometer (for a minimum of 30 minutes, three times per week) can improve cardio-respiratory fitness, cardio-metabolic health, quality of life, physical function, body composition and ulcer area in this population.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/YH/0269
Date of REC Opinion
21 Aug 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion