Blood Flow Restricted Electrical Stimulation During Immobilisation

St Mary's University College

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Atrophy, Disuse; Atrophy, Muscular

Treatments: Other: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation with blood flow restriction

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05093985

SMU-BFRImmob

Details and patient eligibility

About

Following injury or surgery to a limb, it is often immobilised to allow tissue healing. Short periods of disuse cause loss of muscle size and strength and impaired mechanical properties of tendons, which leads to reduced function. Strategies to combat these deconditioning adaptations include neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), however at present its effectiveness is limited. Recent research suggests that the effects of NMES can be augmented with blood flow restriction (BFR). At present, the effect of combining these two techniques on muscle function during limb immobilisation is unknown. Furthermore, the impact of BFR training during retraining following immobilisation is unknown.

Full description

Following injury or surgery to a limb, it is often immobilised to allow tissue healing. Short periods of disuse cause loss of muscle size and strength and impaired mechanical properties of tendons, which leads to reduced function. Strategies to combat these deconditioning adaptations include neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), however at present its effectiveness is limited. Recent research suggests that the effects of NMES can be augmented with blood flow restriction (BFR). At present, the effect of combining these two techniques on muscle function during limb immobilisation is unknown. Furthermore, the impact of BFR training during retraining following immobilisation is unknown.

This study will examine the effectiveness and feasibility of a neuromuscular electrical stimulation and blood flow restriction protocol during a 7 day period of immobilisation. Multiple measures across several physiological systems will be obtained.

Enrollment: 36 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 55 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Between the age of 18-55
• Non-smoker
• No previous history of cardiovascular, respiratory or neurological problems
• Not taking anticoagulant medication
• Injury-free in the 3 months prior to scheduled participation in the study.

Exclusion criteria

• Hypertension (<140/80)
• Metal work in-situ
• Blood diseases or clotting issues
• Injury or previous injury (<3 months prior to scheduled participation in the study)
• Pregnancy

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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36 participants in 2 patient groups

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation with blood flow restriction

Experimental group

Description:

This is the intervention condition

Treatment:

Other: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation with blood flow restriction

No intervention

No Intervention group

Description:

This is the control condition