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Putting pain relief in perspective: Changes following blood flow restricted exercise and electrical stimulation
Luong, Abigail Messerly, Kenzie Sayam, Vindhya R.
Luong, Abigail
Messerly, Kenzie
Sayam, Vindhya R.
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2026
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Luong, A., Messerly, K., Sayam, V. R., Sigley, D. L., & Proppe, C. E. Putting pain relief in perspective: Changes following blood flow restricted exercise and electrical stimulation. -- FYRE in STEM Showcase, 2026.
Abstract
Rehabilitation is often limited when patients experience pain. Clinicians commonly use pain management modalities, such as therapeutic electrical stimulation (E stim), to address this barrier. Exercise induced hypoalgesia (EIH) is an alternative pain management strategy; however, the magnitude of pain relief it provides may be unclear to clinicians unfamiliar with EIH. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare changes in pain following blood flow–restricted exercise (BFR) and E stim interventions.
A repeated measures, counterbalanced, within subject crossover design was used. Healthy, physically active individuals between the ages of 18-55 were recruited. Participants completed seven visits: one baseline visit, three intervention visits (BFR, E stim, and control), and a follow up visit eight hours after each intervention. During the BFR intervention, participants completed four sets of bilateral leg extensions at 30% of maximal strength, with BFR cuffs inflated to 60% of arterial occlusion pressure. During the E stim intervention, a 20 minute interferential current treatment was applied to the dominant quadriceps muscle at a strong but comfortable intensity. The control visit followed the same protocol, but no treatment or exercise was performed. Heat pain threshold, pressure pain threshold, and pressure pain tolerance of the dominant quadriceps and biceps brachii were assessed before, immediately after, and eight hours post intervention.
This is an ongoing study with four complete participant datasets, and eight participants currently enrolled. Once the required sample size is met, a 3 (Intervention [BFR, E-stim, and control]) ×2 (Time [post-exercise, 8-hours post-exercise]) repeated-measures ANOVA will be used to analyze the change from pre-intervention values in heat pain threshold (Δ°C), pain pressure threshold (Δkgf), and pain pressure tolerance (Δkgf).
Based on previous investigations, we expect BFR will provide similar or greater levels of EIH compared to the E-stim intervention. Results from this study will provide context to help clinicians make informed decisions about pain management modalities.
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Poster and abstract presented at the FYRE in STEM Showcase, 2026.
Research project completed at the College of Education and the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College, Wichita State University.
Research project completed at the College of Education and the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College, Wichita State University.
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Wichita State University
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FYRE in STEM 2026