Acute Inflammatory Response to a Single Bout of Resistance Exercise with or Without Blood Flow Restriction

The effectiveness of resistance training (RT) with blood flow restriction (BFR) is limited from the health perspective.

This study aimed to investigate the acute inflammatory response to a single bout of RT with or without BFR.

Twenty-four non-athletic male students were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 8), including: (1) high intensity (HIRT80% of 1-RM: 3 × 10 R), (2) low intensity (40% of 1-RM: 3 × 30 R) with BFR (180 mmHg) (LIRT + BFR) and (3) LIRT.

Significant increase for IL1-β (p = 0.001), IL-6 (P = 0.001), TNF-α(P = 0.002), CRP (P = 0.007), ICAM1 (P = 0.016), HCY (P = 0.008) were observed. These responses in the HIRE and LIRT + BFR groups were significantly higher than in the LIRT group respectively (P ≤ 0.05).

The LIRT + BFR has similar effects to HIRT and can be used in rehabilitation training. The gradual overload and proper recovery are very important due to the increase in acute inflammatory responses.