Vascular occlusion for optimising the functional improvement in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled trial
Authors' conclusion
Incorporating BFR into traditional exercise programmes significantly enhances short-term and long-term outcomes for patients with KOA demonstrating persistent improvements in pain, symptoms, QoL and functional measures compared with conventional exercise alone.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with knee OA at Ghent University Hospital
- Participants
- 120 patients
- Comparison
- Blood flow restriction (BFR)-enhanced exercise programme vs traditional exercise programme
- Primary endpoint
- KOOS questionnaire
- Follow-up
- 3 months
Methodological detailsintention-to-treat, linear mixed models with Dunn-Sidak corrections
- Intention-to-treat
- Linear mixed models with Dunn-Sidak corrections
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
KOOS subscales, improvement
Effect size (KOOS pain)
0.55
P = 0.0008
BFR
Effect size (KOOS symptoms)
0.59
P = 0.0004
BFR
Effect size (KOOS quality of life (QoL))
0.66
P = 0.0001
BFR
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | Estimate | P value |
|---|---|---|
| KOOS pain, quadriceps strength and functional tests, improvement · 12 weeksBFR vs Control | effect size (KOOS pain) 0.58 | P = 0.0009 |
| KOOS pain, quadriceps strength and functional tests, improvement · 12 weeksBFR vs Control | effect size (quadriceps strength) 0.81 | P < 0.0001 |
KOOS pain, quadriceps strength and functional tests, improvement · 12 weeks
- Greater improvements in functional tests with BFR vs control
Secondary outcomes · 3 months follow-up
- Sustained benefits in secondary outcomes with BFR
Safety
Drop-out rates
- Similar in both groups
Original publication
Vascular occlusion for optimising the functional improvement in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled trial. Ann Rheum Dis. Published 2 January 2025. doi:10.
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