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Blood Flow Restriction Exercises and Conservative Exercises in Knee Osteoarthritis

Comparison of Blood Flow Restriction Exercises With Conservative Exercises in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Single-Blind Study.

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04535596
Enrollment
39
Registered
2020-09-02
Start date
2020-09-01
Completion date
2022-02-11
Last updated
2022-03-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Blood Flow Restriction Exercise, Hypertrophy, Occlusion Training, Osteoarthritis of Knee, Pain, Joint, Resistance Training

Brief summary

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a rheumatic disease that causes serious cartilage damage in the knee joint. Moderate physical activity can slow cartilage degeneration in moderate OA stages. Remarkable weakness and atrophy of the quadriceps and hamstrings is a common problem in patients with chronic osteoarthritis, but in arthritis, it may be difficult to achieve strength gains due to the pain caused by heavy load-resistant exercises. Exercising with these high loads may not be possible or may injure painful arthritic knees. For this reason, lately, blood flow restriction exercises have been directed to achieve the same gain by exercising with lower loads by restricting the blood flow with a cuff. We aimed to limit the blood flow in osteoarthritic knees and to provide strength gain and pain reduction provided by conventional exercises given routinely. Our hypothesis in this study is that exercises that blood flow restriction exercises will reduce pain and increase strength as well as conventional exercises.

Detailed description

Knee osteoarthritis is a rheumatic disease that causes serious cartilage damage in the knee joint. Moderate physical activity can slow cartilage degeneration in moderate OA stages. Remarkable weakness and atrophy of the quadriceps and hamstrings is a common problem in patients with chronic osteoarthritis, but in arthritis, it may be difficult to achieve strength gains due to the pain caused by heavy load-resistant exercises. Exercising with these high loads may not be possible or may injure painful arthritic knees. For this reason, lately, blood flow restricting exercises have been directed to achieve the same gain by exercising with lower loads by restricting the blood flow with a cuff. We aimed to limit the blood flow in osteoarthritic knees and to provide strength gain and pain reduction provided by conventional exercises given routinely. Our hypothesis in this study is that exercises that limit blood flow will reduce pain and increase strength as well as conventional exercises. Forty patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis by X-ray will be included in the study. Grade II-III (high rate of exercise therapy) individuals according to the Kellgren Lawrence classification will be included. Patients diagnosed with orthopedics and traumatology will be randomly divided into two groups according to the order of entry through the door. Conventional Exercises that increase muscle strength, flexibility and reduce pain will be included in the first group. In the second group, the same exercises will be used, but during the application, a cuff will be placed on the thigh and the blood flow will be prevented by inflating, therefore, exercises with lower loads will be performed. Exercises will be practiced for 12 weeks and pre-exercise results will be compared within and between groups.

Interventions

OTHERExercise

12 week long strength training exercises for knee

Sponsors

Istanbul Medipol University Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Participants between the ages of 45-70, diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis according to the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology. * Participants who stated that the severity of knee pain to be evaluated with Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS) is between 2-8 * Participants who are voluntaries for the study

Exclusion criteria

* Participants who have patellar subluxation or dislocation around the knee, who have other sources of knee pain such as bursae, fat pad and a history of knee surgery, * Those who are in Grade 1 or 4 according to the Kellgren-Lawrence radiographic staging * Those who have participated in leg weight exercise training in the last 6 months * Participants who are under the high risk of venous thrombosis (lower extremity surgery, cardiovascular conditions including high blood pressure (\> 140/90) in the past 6 months), * Diabetes, pregnancy, unexplained chest pain or heart disease, fainting or dizziness during physical activity / exercise. * If exercise is contraindicated

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
WOMAC score12 weeksscore among patients with knee and/or hip osteoarthritis. The Index is self-administered, 24 question, 5-point Likert. Scores range from 0 to 96 for the total WOMAC where higher scores indicate worse function.
Pain Intensity12 weeksPain intensities which are assessed by visual analogue scale(VAS) divided 10 equal intervals. 0 means no pain and 10 means unbearable pain. Higher scores idicate worse pain intensity.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Quadriceps muscle strength4 weekspeak isometric knee extensor torque measured by myometer.
Quadriceps cross sectional area12 weeksMeasured by MRI
high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)12 weekshs-CRP(high sensitive C-reactive protein) level
Short Form-36 questionnaire12 weeksSF-36 quality of life form
Circumference of thigh12 weeksmeasured in the same level of quadriceps before and after application.
Physical Function12 weeksmeasured by 6 minute walking test

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026