The perceptual responses of individuals with multiple sclerosis to blood flow restriction versus traditional resistance exercise.

Background: Low-load resistance exercise with blood flow restriction (BFR-RE) has been shown capable of improving neuromuscular parameters in several clinical populations, however, its tolerability and effects on individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) remains unknown.

Objective: To investigate the perceptual responses of individuals with MS to BFR-RE versus traditional high-load resistance exercise (HL-RE).

Methods: Four men and eleven women diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS randomly completed the following experimental trials: 1) BFR-RE four sets of 30-15-15-15 repetitions, at 20% of one-repetition maximum (1-RM) of leg-press (LP) and knee-extension (KE), with 50% of BFR, and a 1-min rest interval between sets; 2) HL-RE- four sets of 8-10 repetitions, at 70% 1-RM of LP and KE, with the same rest intervals. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured after each set, pain was measured before and after sets, and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) was measured at 5, 30, 60 min, and 24-h post-exercise.

Results: HL-RE elicited significantly (p<0.05) greater RPE compared to BFR-RE during all sets. Additionally, there were no significant (p>0.05) differences between BFR-RE and HL-RE for pain immediately after all sets, although pain measured before sets were significantly (p<0.05) greater for BFR-RE. Finally, both protocols resulted in similar DOMS, however, it was significantly (p<0.05) elevated 24-h post-exercise compared to 1-h after for HL-RE but not for BFR-RE.

Conclusion: Altogether, these data demonstrate that BFR-RE is well tolerated by individuals with MS, requires less muscular exertion than HL-RE, and does not cause exaggerated pain during exercise or elevated DOMS up to 24 h post-exercise.