The Effect of Combined Blood Flow Restriction TheraBand Training on Functional Capacity and Quality of Life

This study aims to examine the effects of 4-week combined blood flow restriction - TheraBand training on functional capacity and quality of life in healthy individuals aged 55-65 years. A total of 24 women aged 55-65 participated in the study voluntarily. Participants were divided into three groups consisting of 8 people: TheraBand group (TG), blood flow restriction+TheraBand group (BFR+TG), and control group (CG). Participants were administered a 30-second sit-to-stand chair test, a 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and Modified Borg Scale (MBS) for quality of life. In intra-group comparisons, both the Borg scale and 6MWT showed statistically significant improvements favouring the final test in TG and BFR+TG groups (p= 0.05). Inter-group comparisons revealed that the BFR+TG group exhibited higher improvement compared to the other groups. Significant differences favouring the final test were also observed in the intra-group comparison of the 30-second sit-to-stand test in TG and BFR+TG groups (p= 0.05), with the BFR+TG group showing higher improvement compared to the CG in inter-group comparisons. Moreover, no statistically significant differences were found in intra-group and inter-group comparisons of quality of life (p= 0.05). In conclusion, it can be recommended that lower-intensity strength training with TheraBands, combined with BFR where possible, be applied to elderly individuals instead of high-intensity strength training and, if possible, use the BFR method in these training.