NCT06565754

Effect of Adding Blood Flow Restriction to Strengthening Exercise in Patients With Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 50 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Cairo University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 35 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

To study the effect of adding BFRT to strengthening exercises and compare it with strengthening exercises alone in improving, muscular strength, pain, function, joint position sense, and dynamic balance test (star excursion test). in patients with PFPS.

Detailed description

Background: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) is a common condition characterized by anterior knee pain, particularly affecting individuals aged 15-30. It often involves lower limb muscle weakness, particularly in the quadriceps, which can exacerbate symptoms and affect functional performance. Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFRT) has shown promise in enhancing muscle strength and functional outcomes with reduced intensity compared to traditional high-intensity training. Purpose: This study aims to compare the efficacy of combining BFRT with traditional strengthening exercises versus using strengthening exercises alone in improving muscular strength, pain, function, joint position sense, and dynamic balance in patients with PFPS. Methods: A triple-blinded, randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Almenshawy General Hospital, Tanta, Egypt. Fifty patients with unilateral non-traumatic PFPS, aged 18-35, were randomly assigned to either a strengthening exercises group (SE Group) or a BFRT plus strengthening exercises group (BFRT Group). Both groups underwent a 6-week intervention with three sessions per week. Outcomes assessed included quadriceps and hip abductors strength, pain severity (Visual Analog Scale), functional status (Kujala Patellofemoral Score), joint position sense (measured by digital inclinometer), and dynamic balance (Star Excursion Balance Test).

Conditions

• BFR
• PFPS
• Strengthening Exercises
• Quadriceps Strength
• Dynamic Balance
• Joint Position Sense

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	BFR	Blood flow restriction training is an accessory to a variety of different exercise modes (e.g., resistance exercise, walking, cycling) has recently become a popular research topic. It involves the application of pressurized cuffs to the proximal portion of each lower extremity or upper extremity. It enhance blood pooling in the capillary beds of the limb muscles distal to the tourniquet or cuff. The 3rd Generation SmartCuffs® pump (SmartCuffs® 3.0 PRO) is Personalized Pressure feature which allows for a fast, hassle-free personalized pressure calculation. With the built-in pressure sensor and on-board computer, it is calculate arterial occlusion pressure and set the optimal pressure for patient's body. There is no need for an external doppler probe or hand pump. This unit will do everything for patient. Smart Cuffs 3rd generation is FDA Approved Listed Class 1 device. The automatized tourniquet (Smart Tools) contains a ring-shaped single- chamber
OTHER	strengthening exercise	Quadriceps strengthening exercises are part of the treatment of PFPS, but the heavy resistance exercises may aggravate knee pain. Blood flow restriction training (BFRT) provides a low-load quadriceps strengthening method to treat PFPS (Giles et al., 2017).

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-09-01
• Primary completion: 2025-04-01
• Completion: 2026-04-01
• First posted: 2024-08-22
• Last updated: 2024-08-22

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Egypt