An interventional study of Blood flow restriction training and No blood flow restriction training in Weakness, Muscle, sponsored by Medical College of Wisconsin. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-01.
Sponsored by Medical College of Wisconsin · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
A large portion of the American population live with disabilities. People with disabilities can find it difficult to perform standard exercise routines. Regular exercise is necessary to be healthy, especially as people age. Lack of exercise can lead to secondary health concerns, like loss of muscle mass, diabetes, heart attack or stroke, to name a few. For exercise to be most beneficial, a certain degree of intensity must be achieved. Low load blood flow restriction training may be able to mimic the intensity of beneficial exercise without actually exercising hard. It may be a good option for people with disabilities who find it difficult to exercise.
A significant portion of the American population currently lives with a disability. There are about 300,000 Americans living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) with approximately 18,000 new cases each year. Cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), or strokes, occur at 795,000 new cases per year in the USA with strokes being the third-leading cause of death and disability combined in the world3. There are about 750,000 US adults living with multiple sclerosis (MS), 30,000 US adults with ALS, about 1400 Americans are born each year with spina bifida, about 11,000 Americans are born each year with cerebral palsy, and there were 1.6 million American amputees as of 2005, with that number expected to double by 2050. These disabilities tend to reduce the activity levels of these individuals, which puts them at an increased risk of developing comorbidities such as obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and more. These comorbidities are often already present in those who have had a CVA, and those who are older experience an even greater burden than those who are younger. Thus, exercise regimens are crucial to maintaining their health.
Aging is associated with an increase in susceptibility to injury and a decrease in functional ability related to a decrease in muscle size and strength. This age-related decrease is also known as primary sarcopenia. Resistance exercise, such as weightlifting, has been shown to improve muscle size and strength and functional ability in elderly individuals, and resistance exercise is widely regarded as the best method to slow the progression of primary sarcopenia. Resistance exercise and physical activity has also been shown to reduce the odds of developing sarcopenia later in life, suggesting an impetus for beginning an exercise regimen while young, though any age will benefit.
Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is a method of exercise that involves restricting the participant's blood flow to the target muscle group during exercise. Historically, training to increase muscle thickness and strength occurs at 70% of a person's 1 repetition maximum (1RM), which is the maximum weight someone can lift in one repetition (rep) of a given exercise. For example, if someone's 1RM for barbell biceps curl is 100lbs, he could train at 70lbs for 3 sets of 8-12 to increase his biceps curl 1RM and the size of his biceps. This training is hereto referred as high intensity resistance training (HLRT). Training at 30-50% 1RM with BFR, hereto referred as low load blood flow restriction training (LLBFR), increases muscle thickness similar to training at 50-80% 1RM without BFR. This also results in an increase in strength due to the increase in overall muscle mass. LLBFR training regimens also display greater increases in muscle size and strength when compared to identical exercise regimens but without BFR. So, training barbell biceps curl at 30-50lbs with blood flow restriction will increase biceps size similarly to our HLRT example. It will increase biceps strength too, but likely not to the same degree as our HLRT example. However, the increase in biceps strength and size in this LLBFR example will be greater than if this person trained at 30-50lbs but without BFR. Thus, LLBFR can induce similar benefits to traditional HLRT but with a much lighter load.
Due to the efficacy and efficiency of LLBFR in increasing muscle size and strength, it has been proposed as an alternate exercise regimen for those unable to tolerate, or are contraindicated for, traditional HLRT, such as the elderly or individuals with disabilities. This study proposes to examine if LLBFR is beneficial when compared to traditional low load resistance training.
477 studies on the registry are indexed under Muscle Weakness; 73 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 24 is below the median of 44 across 362 interventional studies indexed under Muscle Weakness.
Browse Muscle Weakness studies →Medical College of Wisconsin is the lead sponsor of 548 studies on the registry; 122 are open to participants now.
Of its 75 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 57 (76%) have results posted.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Low load resistance training routine at 30-50% of a person's 1-repetition maximum with arterial occlusion pressure at 80%
Other: Blood flow restriction training
Low load resistance training routine at 30-50% of a person's 1-repetition maximum
Other: No blood flow restriction training
Participants randomized to blood flow restriction training will complete low load resistance training exercises while the limb is occluded at 80% arterial occlusion pressure.
Participants randomized to no blood flow restriction training will complete low load resistance without occlusion.
Difference in strength between low load blood flow restriction resistance training and low load resistance training
This outcome will measure the efficacy of low load blood flow restriction training (LLBFR) on muscle strength. The difference in muscle strength as measured by change in 1-repetition maximum weight in pounds will be compared in individuals training with LLBFR on their arm extensors and individuals training with low load resistance training (LLRT) on their arm extensors compared to their baseline.
Time frame: 6 weeks
Difference in arm circumference between low load blood flow restriction resistance training and low load resistance training
This outcome will measure the efficacy of low load blood flow restriction training (LLBFR) on arm circumference. The difference in arm circumference as measured by tape measure will be the change in centimeters in individuals training with LLBFR on their arm extensors compared to individuals training with low load resistance training (LLRT) on their arm extensors when compared to their respective baseline.
Time frame: 6 weeks
Difference in muscle thickness change between low load blood flow restriction resistance training and low load resistance training
This outcome will measure the efficacy of low load blood flow restriction training (LLBFR) on muscle thickness. The difference in muscle thickness as measured by ultrasound will be the change in centimeters in individuals training with LLBFR on their arm extensors compared to individuals training with low load resistance training (LLRT) on their arm extensors when compared to their respective baseline.
Time frame: 6 weeks
The interaction effect between disability status (disable versus able-bodied) and training group (LLBFR and LLRT) on the change in strength.
Response to training in individuals with disabilities. The results of LLBFR on muscle strength as measured by change in pounds of 1-repetition maximum to the arm extensors will be compared between those with disabilities and those without.
Time frame: 6 weeks
The interaction effect between disability status (disable versus able-bodied) and training group (LLBFR and LLRT) on the change in arm circumference.
Response to training in individuals with disabilities. The results of LLBFR on arm circumference as measured by change in centimeters as measured by tape measure to the arm extensors will be compared between those with disabilities and those without.
Time frame: 6 weeks
The interaction effect between disability status (disable versus able-bodied) and training group (LLBFR and LLRT) on the change in muscle thickness.
Response to training in individuals with disabilities. The results of LLBFR on muscle thickness as measured by ultrasound in change in centimeters to the muscle thickness will be compared between those with disabilities and those without.
Time frame: 6 weeks
Plan to share: No
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