Blood Flow Restriction Exercise in Patients With an Achilles Tendon Rupture

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to gain insights into the effects of Blood Flow Restriction Exercise (BFRE) in patients with an acute Achilles tendon Rupture. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Is BFRE an effective adjunct to usual care when compared with only usual care? When is the optimal timing for initiating BFRE: In the early treatment stage or at the later stage after hospital treatment? Participants will receive an intervention comprising 12 weeks of BFRE as an adjunct to usual care.

* Either in the initial 1-12 weeks after Achilles tendon rupture, or
* In the following 13-24 weeks after Achilles tendon rupture

Researchers will compare the two groups at 13 weeks (3 months) to compare BFRE to usual care, and at 25 weeks (6 months) to compare the two time points for initiating BFRE (early vs. late).

Conditions

• Achilles Tendon Rupture

Interventions

OTHER

Early exercise with partial Blood Flow Restriction

The intervention comprises of 12 weeks of blood flow restriction exercise in weeks 1-12 after injury. Three weekly exercise sessions are performed. Six supervised sessions are provided during the 12 weeks. Blood flow restriction of 80% of the limb occlusion pressure required to fully restrict the arterial blood flow is employed. The intervention comprises three exercises: Seated leg extension, standing knee flexion, and seated heel-rise performed at home as an adjunct to usual care treatment. Each exercise is performed in four sets of 30, 15, 15, +1 repetitions, with the fourth set (+1) being as many repetitions as possible. Pause in between sets is 30 seconds. Pause in between exercises are 120 seconds. In weeks 13-24, patients in this arm follow usual care treatment.

OTHER

Late exercise with partial Blood Flow Restriction

The intervention comprises of 12 weeks of blood flow restriction exercise in weeks 13-24 after injury. Three weekly exercise sessions are performed. Six supervised sessions are provided during the 12 weeks. Blood flow restriction of 80% of the limb occlusion pressure required to fully restrict the arterial blood flow is employed. The intervention comprises three exercises: Leg press in machine, heel-rise in machine, knee flexion in machine performed at training facilities as an adjunct to usual care treatment. If facilities are unavailable, three home-based exercises will be provided. Each exercise, regardless of study arm, is performed in four sets of 30, 15, 15, +1 repetitions, with the fourth set (+1) being as many repetitions as possible. In weeks 1-12, patients in this arm follow usual care treatment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Aarhus University Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Aalborg University Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Gødstrup Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Regionshospitalet Horsens

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Aarhus

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Andreas Bentzen, MHSc · University of Aarhus

• Inger Mechlenburg, DMSc · University of Aarhus

• Per H. Gundtoft, MD, PhD · Aarhus University Hospital

• Stian L. Jørgensen, PT, PhD · Regionshospitalet Horsens

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-01-28

Primary Completion

2028-01-09

Completion

2028-01-09

Countries

• Denmark

Study Locations