Can counting backwards while walking keep seniors stronger longer?
NCT ID NCT07205016
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether adding simple mental challenges—like counting or naming animals—to physical exercise helps frail adults over 65 improve their strength, balance, and thinking more than exercise alone. About 220 participants will be randomly assigned to either the dual-task program or usual care. The goal is to see if this combined approach can reduce frailty and boost daily function.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- dual-task exercise (physical exercise combined with cognitive tasks)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, low-cost way to help older adults stay independent and sharp for longer.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial (220 people) testing a behavioral intervention, so results may not apply broadly. The benefit over usual exercise may be small or hard to measure.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 220 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jan 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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65 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 65 or older * Frailty according to Fragil-VIG index (\>0,20) * Barthel index \> 60 * Able to perform physical exercise * Able to understand and communicate in Catalan or Spanish Exclusion Criteria: * Decompensated / Unstable cardiovascular disease or recent diagnosed * Upper or lower injury with functional impairment * Institutionalized patient. * Terminal or tumoral processes * People who participated in another clinical trial or exercise programme during last year * Diagnosis of severe dementia
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
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