ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1631562
This article is part of the Research TopicImpact of Blood Flow Restriction Device Features and Methodological Considerations on Acute- and Longitudinal Responses to Blood Flow Restricted ExerciseView all 13 articles
Development and Usability Testing of a Preliminary Web-Based Application for the Clinical Implementation of Blood Flow Restriction: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan, United States
- 2Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, United States
- 3Purdue University Northwest, Hammond, Indiana, United States
- 4Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, United States
- 5St. Catherine University, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
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Exercise with blood flow restriction (BFR) has gained popularity for use with a wide range of healthy and clinical populations. However, several factors including medical screening, selection of equipment, and determination of cuff pressure still pose barriers for implementation.Accordingly, this study aimed to develop and test a web-based application to guide practitioners in using BFR safely and effectively. First, we developed an application to assist with medical screening, selection of appropriate equipment, and determination of cuff pressures. Subsequently, we conducted preliminary usability testing of the application using a mixed methods approach. Licensed physical therapists (n=5) with no prior experience with BFR used the application to implement BFR exercise in hypothetical patient scenarios. Afterward, perceived usability was assessed using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and semi-structured interviews analyzed through thematic analysis. All task scenarios were successfully completed in an average time of 2.3±1.2 minutes. A total of 11 errors occurred, including minor navigation issues (4), data input problems (2), and difficulty interpreting recommendations (5). The composite SUS score was 94±5, ranking highly compared to industry standards. Interviews revealed that the application was efficient, boosted confidence in using BFR, and increased the perceived likelihood of incorporating BFR into clinical practice. These findings suggest that the web-based application has potential to serve as a valuable tool for overcoming barriers to BFR use, enhancing accessibility, and improving the safety and effectiveness of BFR implementation in clinical settings.
Keywords: Physical Therapy, occlusion training, Limb occlusion pressure, Arterial occlusion pressure, Rehabilitation, Decision support tool
Received: 19 May 2025; Accepted: 25 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wedig, Petushek, Durocher, McDaniel and Elmer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Steven J Elmer, St. Catherine University, Saint Paul, 55105, Minnesota, United States
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