A Comparison of the Effects of Three Strength Training Programs with and without Blood Flow Restriction on Strength, Hypertrophy and Mobility Function in Elderly Women

Considering the increased population of elderly people, performing research on potential interventions to reduce the function drop is of central importance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effect of three strength training programs (with and without blood flow restriction and traditional), on strength, hypertrophy and mobility function in elderly women. 33 elderly women (age ranged 60 -70 years) were selected and randomly divided into three groups: resistance training with blood flow restriction (n= 11), resistance training without blood flow restriction (n= 11) and traditional strength training (n= 11). Functional tests were taken before and after the 12-week training period.  One-way repeated-measures ANOVA was used to determine difference between groups. The significance level was set at p There were no significant difference in hand grip strength (measured by hand grip dynamometer), lower body muscle strength (measured by leg extension machine), muscle hypertrophy (measured by anthropometric measures) and functional mobility (measured by TUG test) between groups. All three strength training programs i.e. resistance training with and without blood flow restriction and traditional resistance training have the same effect on muscle mass and strength, and functional mobility of elderly women. Therefore, resistance training with and without blood flow restriction with lower loads, which require less effort and possibly safer are recommended for elderly women.