An Investigation into the Effect of Blood Flow Restriction on Pain and Muscular Endurance in Healthy Human Participants

Objective This study compared the effect of exercise during full, partial (intermittent) and no BFR on pain and muscular endurance. Design Within-subject repeated measures cross-over study comparing full BFR (200 mmHg), partial BFR (100 mmHg) and no (control) BFR during hand-grip exercises of a bulb dynamometer (60 per minute) at 30% of their one-repetition maximum of grip strength. Setting Laboratory. Participants 20 student volunteers (male = 14, age = 22-29 years). Main outcome measures Time to exhaustion and pain perception at minute intervals during handgrip exercises. Results There were fewer (77.0 ± 34.7) handgrip exercise repetitions during full BFR compared with partial BFR (125.1 ± 37.7, p < 0.001) and fewer repetitions for partial BFR compared with no BFR (147.6 ± 11.3 repetitions, p = 0.026). Pain intensity was higher for full BFR compared with partial BFR (p = 0.045) and higher for partial BFR compared with no BFR (p < 0.001). Participants selected more total, sensory and affective pain descriptors of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire during full BFR compared with partial BFR and no BFR. Conclusion Full BFR produced severe exercise-induced pain so partial BFR may be a more acceptable training and rehabilitation aid.

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