Effect of Low Load Resistance Blood Flow Restriction Training on Knee Osteoarthritis

Background: The initiation, progression, and severity of knee osteoarthritis (OA) have been associated with decreased muscular strength and alterations in joint biomechanics. Resistance exercise has been shown to be an effective inter-vention for decreasing pain, restoring muscle strength and joint mechanics while improving physical function in patients with knee OA. High-resistance exercise has been demonstrated to be more beneficial than low-resistance exercise. However, patients with knee OA may have reduced tolerance of high resistance training programs.Aim of Study: The current study was conducted to assess whether concurrent application of blood flow restriction (BFR) to low load resistance (LLR) training is an efficient and tolerable mean of improving functional mobility in patients with knee OA.Patients and Methods: Forty female patients with mild to moderate unilateral tibiofemoral OA. Their age ranged from 45-60 years old. All patients were referred by orthopedic surgeons who were responsible for diagnosis of OA based on clinical and radiological examination. All patients were randomly assigned into one of two groups: Group (A) This group included 20 patients underwent conventional high load resistance (HLR) training exercises (60% 1RM), group (B) This group included 20 patients received LLR training exer-cises (30% 1RM) combined with BFR, three sessions per week for one month. The study was conducted from September 2017 to February 2018 in a private orthopedic and physical therapy center.Evaluation: Timed up and go (TUG) test was used to assess patient's functional mobility. Results showed that both groups had significant improvement in functional mobility.Conclusion: Both conventional HLR training and LLR-BFR training are effective treatment options for improving functional mobility in patients with knee OA, However, the use of LLR-BFR training resulted in less anterior knee pain during sessions compared to high load training.