Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Training Intervention on Vascular Function

The Effect of Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Training on Vascular Function: Wide-Rigid Cuffs vs. Narrow-Elastic Bands

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of blood flow restriction (BFR) resistance training on vascular function. The investigators aim to compare the effects of different BFR devices (wide-rigid cuffs and narrow elastic bands) on vascular function. The investigators hypothesize that BFR resistance training with wide-rigid cuffs might have a minor negative effect (short-term and reversible) on vascular function, while BFR resistance training with narrow-elastic bands may improve vascular function. Both training methods are equally effective in increasing muscle strength.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Endothelial Function
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Blood flow restriction resistance training

Detailed Description

Blood flow restriction (BFR) resistance training has been proven to be effective in increasing muscle mass and strength. During BFR training, cuffs (similar to blood pressure cuffs) are placed on the proximal ends of the extremities to partially occlude arterial blood flow to the working muscles and fully restrict venous outflow from the working muscle. The metabolites produced by the working muscle during exercise are trapped in the working muscle, which causes metabolic stress to augment muscle adaptation. Typically, two types of cuffs are used in the BFR training: the narrow-elastic bands and wide-rigid nylon cuffs adapted from surgical tourniquets and blood pressure cuffs.

Currently, the effect of BFR training on vascular function remains unclear. When the cuffs are removed after BFR training, there will be a reactive hyperemic blood flow to wash out all the metabolites produced during exercise. This reactive hyperemic blood flow also will impose shear stress on the arterial vessel wall. The shear stress will lead to an increase in vasodilator factors, which lead to an improvement in vascular function. However, other studies have pointed out that BFR training might cause a negative effect on vascular function when the occlusion pressure was too high. The possible mechanisms of the negative effect might be ischemia-reperfusion injury and retrograde shear stress in the artery. The wide-rigid cuffs are easily available but have the potential to inhibit the expansion of muscle upon increased blood flow accompanying exercise and muscle contraction while the narrow-elastic bands do not prevent the expansion. To the investigators' best knowledge, there is no study directly comparing different BFR cuffs on vascular function. Thus, the aim of the present study is to compare the effects of different BFR cuffs on vascular function (evaluated by flow-mediated dilation, a non-invasive measure of endothelial-derived vasodilation).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 25
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Lin-Sheng Chen; Phone Number: 765-775-3257; Email: samas9944@gmail.com

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Austin, Texas, United States, 78705
      • Recruiting
      • Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory
      • Contact: Lin-Sheng Chen, MS; Phone Number: +1 765 775 3257; Email: linsheng.chen@utexas.edu
      • Contact: Hirofumi Tanaka, PhD; Phone Number: 512-232-4801; Email: htanaka@austin.utexas.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 40 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Apparently healthy, sedentary or recreationally active young adults aged between 18 - 40 years old and signed the informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• A current COVID-19 diagnosis
• morbid obesity
• hypertension
• smoking
• overt cardiovascular disease
• using any medication that might affect the cardiovascular system
• current participation in resistance training.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Wide-rigid cuff; The wide-rigid cuff will be randomly assigned to one of the subject's arms.	Behavioral: Blood flow restriction resistance training; The participants will receive a 2-week exercise training program (3 times per week). Each training session will consist of 3 resistance training exercises with two blood flow restriction devices (wide-rigid cuff and narrow-elastic band). For both arms, the participants will perform the same exercise with different BFR devices.
Experimental: Narrow-elastic band; The narrow-elastic band will be randomly assigned to another arm of the subject.	Behavioral: Blood flow restriction resistance training; The participants will receive a 2-week exercise training program (3 times per week). Each training session will consist of 3 resistance training exercises with two blood flow restriction devices (wide-rigid cuff and narrow-elastic band). For both arms, the participants will perform the same exercise with different BFR devices.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline vascular function at 2 weeks	Flow-mediated dilation evaluated by an ultrasound machine	Baseline measurement and measurement at 2 weeks
Change from baseline muscle strength at 2 weeks	Measured by a cable machine in the gym	Baseline measurement and measurement at 2 weeks
Change from baseline grip strength at 2 weeks	Measured by a hand dynamometer	Baseline measurement and measurement at 2 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline body fat percentage at 2 weeks	Measured by a bioelectrical impedance analysis machine	Baseline measurement and measurement at 2 weeks
Change from baseline fat mass at 2 weeks	Measured by a bioelectrical impedance analysis machine	Baseline measurement and measurement at 2 weeks
Change from baseline lean body mass at 2 weeks	Measured by a bioelectrical impedance analysis machine	Baseline measurement and measurement at 2 weeks
Blood flow responses to different types of cuff	Measured by an ultrasound machine	Baseline measurement
Blood flow responses to different types of cuff	Measured by an ultrasound machine	At 2 weeks
Change from baseline arterial stiffness at 2 weeks	Evaluated by the Omron VP-1000plus device (Non-invasive measurement)	Baseline measurement and measurement at 2 weeks
Change from baseline blood lactate concentration	Measured by a lactometer	At 10 minutes before the training sessions (baseline measurement) and at 10 minutes after the training sessions
Changes from baseline heart rate at the end of each exercise during all the training sessions	Measured by a heart rate monitor	At 10 minutes before the training sessions (baseline measurement), at 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes during the training sessions
Change from baseline blood pressure at the end of each exercise during all the training sessions	Measured by an Omron digital blood pressure monitor	At 10 minutes before the training sessions (baseline measurement), at 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes during the training sessions
Change of the perceived exertion	Borg rating of perceived exertion scale	At 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes during the training sessions

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Texas at Austin
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Hirofumi Tanaka, PhD, The University of Texas at Austin

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Lixandrao ME, Ugrinowitsch C, Berton R, Vechin FC, Conceicao MS, Damas F, Libardi CA, Roschel H. Magnitude of Muscle Strength and Mass Adaptations Between High-Load Resistance Training Versus Low-Load Resistance Training Associated with Blood-Flow Restriction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2018 Feb;48(2):361-378. doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0795-y.
• Pearson SJ, Hussain SR. A review on the mechanisms of blood-flow restriction resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy. Sports Med. 2015 Feb;45(2):187-200. doi: 10.1007/s40279-014-0264-9.
• Early KS, Rockhill M, Bryan A, Tyo B, Buuck D, McGinty J. EFFECT OF BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION TRAINING ON MUSCULAR PERFORMANCE, PAIN AND VASCULAR FUNCTION. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2020 Dec;15(6):892-900. doi: 10.26603/ijspt20200892.
• Hunt JE, Galea D, Tufft G, Bunce D, Ferguson RA. Time course of regional vascular adaptations to low load resistance training with blood flow restriction. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2013 Aug 1;115(3):403-11. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00040.2013. Epub 2013 May 23.
• Horiuchi M, Okita K. Blood flow restricted exercise and vascular function. Int J Vasc Med. 2012;2012:543218. doi: 10.1155/2012/543218. Epub 2012 Oct 22.
• Alhejily W, Aleksi A, Martin BJ, Anderson TJ. The effect of ischemia-reperfusion injury on measures of vascular function. Clin Hemorheol Microcirc. 2014;56(3):265-71. doi: 10.3233/CH-131741.
• Thijssen DH, Dawson EA, Tinken TM, Cable NT, Green DJ. Retrograde flow and shear rate acutely impair endothelial function in humans. Hypertension. 2009 Jun;53(6):986-92. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.109.131508. Epub 2009 Apr 20.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 20, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2023
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 22, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): July 11, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 31, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 29, 2023
• Last Verified: August 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00002999

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No