Effect of Blood Flow Restriction in Low-Intensity Resistance Training of the Quadriceps Femoris Muscle on Joint Position Sense and Threshold to Detect Passive Motion in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Backgrounds: The functional ability of knee OA (KOA) patients is mainly affected by muscle weakness and poor proprioception function. Quadriceps femoris strengthening exercises can improve proprioceptive function in patients with KOA, whereas low-intensity resistance exercises with Blood Flow Restriction have been shown to produce hypertrophy and increase muscle strength equivalent to high-intensity resistance exercises. However, prescriptions for exercise with BFR are still very diverse, and only a few studies show the effects of BFR training on proprioceptive function in patients with KOA. This study aims to determine the impact of BFR in LI-RT of the quadriceps femoris muscle on joint position sense and threshold to detect passive motion in patients with KOA.  Methods: This randomized control trial study designed a clinical experiment with a before and after test. The research enrolled 28 people with KOA grades 2 and 3. The JPS and TTDPM, which reflect proprioceptive function, were measured before and after 6 weeks of exercise. This study's statistical analysis utilized the Monte Carlo test, independent t-test, and paired t-test. The effect size was noticed using Cohen's-d calculation to investigate the statistical influence of alterations further. The significance level was less than 0.05. Results: The mean age of the control group was 61.43 ± 5.70 years old, and the treatment group was 57.71 ± 5.25 years old. There were significant improvements in JPS and TTDPM results before and after training in each group (p < 0,05). There was no significant difference in JPS and TTDPM results between the two groups on the post-test on delta values (p> 0,05). Conclusions: The addition of BFR in LI-RT for 6 weeks did not affect JPS and TTDPM in patients with KOA.