BFR Therapy in Patients With Rotator Cuff Tears
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT04384120. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
Use of Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) Therapy in Patients With Rotator Cuff Tears Treated Nonoperatively or Operatively: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of utilizing blood flow restriction (BFR) therapy in patients treated both non operatively and operatively for rotator cuff tears (RCT). BFR has been proposed to work by restricting arterial inflow leading to an oxygen depleted environment and the ability to induce muscle adaption at lower maximum repetition via reactive hyperemia. Muscle atrophy occurs following rotator cuff tear. Thus, physical therapy is used to regain strength with the ultimate goal of returning to activity. The goal of this investigation is to determine if using BFR during therapy for non-operatively managed and operatively managed rotator cuff tears would lead to increased and expedited strength gains. Additionally the investigators would like to determine if BFR is beneficial in preventing muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration often seen in the setting of rotator cuff tear, as it is known that cuff tears can subject the muscles to degenerative changes and these patients are at risk for poorer clinical outcomes. The investigators will also look at patient reported outcomes metrics and pain scores to determine if BFR has a significant impact on the patient experience surrounding rotator cuff tear after both nonoperative treatment with therapy and operative treatment with surgical repair and peri-operative rehabilitation. The investigators hypothesize that the BFR group will have significantly greater strength gains at all time points. Previous studies have shown that BFR has potential in increasing muscle torque generation and cross sectional area in the first six months following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. While there have not been as many studies investigating the use of BFR following upper extremity surgery, previous research has demonstrate that BFR can be useful both proximal and distal to the targeted muscle groups in the upper extremity. In addition to the paucity of research on post-operative BFR following rotator cuff repair (RCR), there is no evidence on pre-operative use as well. The investigators believe that the use of BFR in the perioperative period surrounding rotator cuff tear and repair has the potential to significantly decrease muscle atrophy and lead to faster, more substantial strength gains and less muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT04384120
- Recruitment status
- Terminated
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 30 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
- Blood Flow Restriction Therapy Device
- Traditional Therapy Procedure
Device · Procedure
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years to 80 Years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepts healthy volunteers
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- May 31, 2020
- Primary completion
- Apr 30, 2022
- Completion
- Jun 30, 2022
- Last update posted
- Jun 4, 2025
2020 – 2022
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Ford Health Systems | Detroit | Michigan | 48202 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT04384120, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Jun 4, 2025 · Synced Sep 2, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT04384120 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.