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Moderate-Intensity Treadmill Walking With Blood Flow Restriction Improves Pulmonary Volumes in Older Adults

NCT07694349 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 14

Last updated 2026-07-09

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This quasi-experimental pilot study evaluated the effect of 12 months of moderate-intensity treadmill walking with blood flow restriction (BFR) on pulmonary function in 14 trained older women. Participants were allocated to either a BFR group (30-40% arterial occlusion pressure) or a control group without BFR. Both groups completed the same aerobic exercise program three times per week. The BFR group showed significant improvements in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) and forced vital capacity (FVC), along with a reduction in resting heart rate, with no adverse events reported. These findings suggest that BFR is a safe and promising strategy to optimize respiratory function in older adults.

Conditions

  • Older Women

Interventions

DEVICE

Blood Flow Restriction

Blood flow restriction was applied using 108 × 10 cm pneumatic cuffs (BodyPro®, Kinemax®) positioned at the proximal region of both thighs, approximately three finger-widths below the gluteal fold. Occlusion pressure was set at 30-40% of each participant's arterial occlusion pressure, which was determined using sphygmomanometry and an 8-MHz vascular Doppler probe placed over the posterior tibial artery. Blood flow restriction was maintained continuously throughout the treadmill walking sessions based on the modified Bruce protocol. The intervention lasted 12 months and was performed three times per week.

OTHER

Aerobic training

Participants completed the same modified Bruce treadmill walking program, matched for frequency and duration, without blood flow restriction.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Universidad Santo Tomas, Chile

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
60 Years
Max Age
80 Years
Sex
FEMALE
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-01-01
Primary Completion
2025-01-25
Completion
2026-03-02

Countries

  • Chile

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07694349 on ClinicalTrials.gov