NCT04248413

Return to Baseball After BFR Therapy for Shoulder Injury

Blood Flow Restriction Training Following Acute Shoulder Injury In Baseball Players: Assessment of Efficacy in Return to Sport

• Status: Withdrawn
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 0 (actual)
• Sponsor: Wake Forest University Health Sciences · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 14 Years – 25 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The literature is limited on whether BFR therapy provides improved return to function after acute rotator cuff or biceps rehabilitation in non-operative cases, and whether there is a clear mechanism of action in musculotendinous repair after BFR therapy. The purpose of the study is to 1) evaluate patient reported outcomes and return to play in baseball athletes undergoing rehabilitation with blood flow restriction (BFR) therapy for shoulder injury and 2) evaluate changes in blood biomarkers to assess the mechanism of action of BFR therapy in injured athletes. Investigators will perform a randomized blinded placebo-controlled trial of 2 separate study populations: 1) baseball players with biceps or rotator cuff tendinopathy undergoing non-operative treatment with BFR therapy incorporated into routine physical rehabilitation and 2) baseball players with biceps or rotator cuff tendinopathy undergoing non-operative treatment with routine physical rehabilitation alone. Primary outcomes will be functional outcomes and evaluation of return to sport. Functional outcomes will be evaluated using validated patient reported outcome surveys that are upper extremity-specific. Return to sport will be assessed by evaluating time to receiving clearance for returning to routine practices and reported level of physical performance and re-injury. Secondary outcomes will be measurement in muscle strength and blood biomarkers, as well as evaluation of 3D throwing motion. Strength will be measured using a biodex system at baseline prior to beginning physical rehabilitation, half-way through the rehabilitation protocol +/- BFR phase, and once cleared for return to play. Blood biomarkers GH, IGF-I, and IL-6 will be quantified at the same time points in order to investigate the mechanism of action of BFR on tissue repair. Patients will be followed longitudinally during this time for rates of reinjury.

Detailed description

This study will evaluate the efficacy of BFR therapy in physical rehabilitation for baseball athletes with non-operative biceps or rotator cuff tendinopathy. This will be directly measured by evaluation of upper extremity biomechanics measurements, strength testing, patient reported functional outcome scores, and identifying time required for clearance of return to sport. These outcomes in patients undergoing BFR therapy in addition to traditional rehabilitation will be compared to patients undergoing traditional rehabilitation only.

Conditions

• Musculoskeletal Injury

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Blood Flow Restriction Therapy	The blood flow restriction cuff, which is regulated by the FDA under 878.5910 and is registered under number 9681444, is manufactured by Delfi Medical. The cuff will be used as recommended by the manufacturer and Owens Recovery Science, the company who provides certificating of blood flow restriction training.
OTHER	Standard physical rehabilitation	Patients diagnosed with non-operative rotator cuff or biceps tendinopathy will undergo physical rehabilitation under the supervision of the same physical therapists who will be performing the BFR therapy.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-05-01
• Primary completion: 2022-07-01
• Completion: 2022-07-01
• First posted: 2020-01-30
• Last updated: 2022-05-16

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study