Bilateral muscle strength symmetry and performance are improved following walk training with restricted blood flow in an elite paralympic sprint runner: Case study.

Objectives: Investigate the influence of 4 weeks of walk training with blood flow restriction (BFR) on muscle strength, metabolic responses, 100-m and 400-m performances in an athlete with cerebral palsy.

Methods: An elite Paralympic sprinter (20 years, 176 cm, 64.8 kg) who presented with moderate hemiplegic cerebral palsy (right side impaired) completed four visits before and after 4 weeks of the BFR training: 1) anthropometric measurements, familiarization of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), and an incremental test; 2) MVC measurements; 3) 400-m performance, and 4) 100-m performance.