Postoperative rehabilitation exercises with addition of blood flow restriction therapy following olecranon fracture: A case report

• Published in: Physiotherapy theory and practice Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 1316 - 1324
• Main Authors: Ponce-Fuentes, Felipe, Cuyul-Vásquez, Iván, Ó Conaire, Eoin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 03.06.2025
• Subjects: Adult; Elbow Joint - physiopathology; Elbow Joint - surgery; Exercise Therapy - methods; Fracture Fixation, Internal; Hand Strength; Humans; Male; Olecranon Fracture; Olecranon Process - diagnostic imaging; Olecranon Process - injuries; Olecranon Process - physiopathology; Olecranon Process - surgery; Range of Motion, Articular; Recovery of Function; Regional Blood Flow; Resistance Training; Treatment Outcome; Ulna Fractures - physiopathology; Ulna Fractures - rehabilitation; Ulna Fractures - surgery; resistance training; exercise therapy; blood flow restriction training; Elbow fracture
• ISSN: 0959-3985; 1532-5040; 1532-5040
• DOI: 10.1080/09593985.2024.2402305

The addition of blood flow restriction therapy (BFRT) to exercise in patients with olecranon fracture treated surgically has not been described in the literature. To describe the effects and safety of BFRT exercises in the postoperative rehabilitation of a patient with olecranon fracture. A 27-year-old male with a surgically treated olecranon fracture completed a 12-week postoperative physical therapy programme. The assessment was performed at the start of rehabilitation, 4 and 12 weeks. The patient had elbow pain, decreased active range of motion (AROM), reduced handgrip strength, and limited physical function. The patient was treated with low-intensity resistance exercises with BFRT. The BFRT was applied with three exercises per stage, at 50% of the limb occlusion pressure and 75 repetitions per exercise. At discharge from physical therapy, improvements were observed in pain intensity (5.9-1.4 cm), AROM of elbow flexion (88°-137°) and extension (-22°--2°), AROM of forearm pronation (18°-68°) and supination (34°-78°), handgrip strength (8 kg-47 kg), physical function (22.9%-89.6%), and disability (72.7%-13.6%). These changes reached the minimal clinically important difference at the time of discharge for all measures, except for extension, pronation, and supination AROM. The addition of BFRT to exercise was effective in improving pain, elbow, and wrist AROM, handgrip strength, function, and disability in a patient with surgically treated olecranon fracture. Despite the inherent limitations of our design, we believe these preliminary findings are compelling to warrant future investigations.