Strength Training Combined With Blood Flow Restriction and Cerebral Palsy

August 3, 2026 updated by: Alaa Fahmy Hassan Al Nemr, Cairo University

Effect of Strength Training Combined With Blood Flow Restriction on Deltoid Muscle Thickness and Upper Limb Functions in Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy

load resistance exercises are performed while partially restricting venous blood flow to the exercising limb using a pneumatic cuff. In children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, this intervention has been proposed to enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy while minimizing mechanical stress on joints and soft tissues. Previous studies suggest that BFR training may improve muscle thickness, muscle strength, functional mobility, gait performance, and overall physical function compared with conventional low-intensity strength training alone. However, careful monitoring of cuff pressure, exercise intensity, and safety considerations is essential when applying this technique in pediatric populations.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

26

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. A diagnosis of spastic hemiplegic CP
  2. Degree of spasticity ranges from 1+ and 2, according to modified Ashworth scale (MAS)
  3. The age of the selected children will range from 4 to 6 years old.
  4. Children are levels II and III according to GMFCS

Exclusion Criteria:

1- Children with visual or auditory problems. 2. Children with severe intellectual disability (IQ less than 65 according to Stanford Binet intelligence scale).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: designed physical therapy program
Other: a specially designed physical therapy program
conventional physical therapy program including reinforcement of the normal motor development, reflex inhibiting patterns, postural reaction, stretching, strengthening exercises, and gait training was applied to children in the control group
Experimental: strength training combined with blood flow restriction and designed physical therapy program
Other: strength training combined with blood flow restriction and designed physical therapy program
A specially designed physical therapy program in addition to progressive resistive exercises for 60 min (30 min designed P.T program and other 30 min for progressive resistive exercise with blood flow restriction ), 3 sessions/ week for 6 successive weeks. strengthening exercise for shoulder flexors, abductors and external rotators, elbow flexors and extensors will be applied with low load while blood flow restriction is applied proximal to the limb

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
ultrasonography for measuring muscle thickness
Time Frame: 6 weeks
6 weeks
quality of upper-extremity skills test for measuring upper limb function
Time Frame: 6 weeks
6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Cairo University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

August 6, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 11, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 3, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 3, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • No.P.T.REC/012/005093

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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