For those suffering with Multiple Sclerosis, Suji’s targeted compression training can quite literally be life-changing.
MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the myelin sheath that protects nerves. This interrupts the communication between the brain and the rest of the body, causing numbness, muscle weakness, vision and balance issues. All of these symptoms can obviously be problematic - and even dangerous - to those attempting to exercise with MS. However, exercise is also incredibly beneficial for those with MS. Using targeted compression training allows people with MS to reap the benefits of strength and cardiovascular training, but at lower loads and intensities. This creates a safer exercise scenario that several new studies conducted at the University of Central Florida have proved to be effective.
When MS Symptoms Disrupt Exercise
It was two years after her MS diagnosis and just half a mile into the Disney Wine & Dine 5K at Epcot Center that Shelby Foster first lost her vision. She had passed the park’s iconic geodesic sphere and was working her way through Epcot’s World Showcase when the vision in her left eye began to blur, “almost like trying to see something underwater,” she recalls. Brain fog soon followed, though her right eye stayed clear. Foster managed to finish the race, and with rest, her vision returned.
This unsettling episode repeated itself a few months later during a one-mile run at a fitness competition. “That’s when I realized it happens when I really exert myself,” she says.
Foster, 32, knew she would need to adjust her workouts to accommodate these new challenges. So, when a friend sent her information about a study at the UCF’s Institute of Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation Science, she volunteered immediately. The research, conducted in partnership with AdventHealth and supported by Suji, tested the effectiveness of blood flow restriction (BFR) resistance training in people with MS.
Foster, who prefers managing her symptoms with natural, fitness-based interventions over medication, was especially interested because the study focused on weight training. She even wore a T-shirt that read “Strength Training Is Healthcare” to her sessions.
Why BFR Training Matters for MS
Strength training is known to improve quality of life for people with MS. However, it is often difficult for many with MS to complete the recommended dose of strength training – and exercise in general – due to fatigue, the neurological issues associated with the disease and to symptoms that can be exacerbated by the elevation in core body temperature that comes with exertion.
The UCF study compared traditional heavy-load resistance training with low-load resistance training paired with Suji across six exercises: chest press, seated row, shoulder press, leg press, leg extension, and leg curls. The goal was to find a different intervention that would have the same benefit as strength training but would not result in as much fatigue.
Before training began, each participant was fitted with Suji cuffs to establish personalized restrictive pressures for arms and legs. Exercises were performed at 30% of one-rep max with 40–60% personalized compression. Following the standard BFR protocol, participants completed 75 total repetitions (sets of 30, 15, 15, and 15) with 30 seconds of rest between sets.
“What we know now is that when you apply the blood-flow-restricted stimulus, you can lower exercise loads and still achieve increases in muscle size and comparable gains in strength to what we expect with heavy, non-restricted training,” says Ethan Hill, Ph.D., CSCS,D*, EP, an associate professor at UCF and director of the STRONG Laboratory. “This opens up a whole new world for people who may be intimidated by traditional strength training or limited by injury or illness—whether MS or other challenges or conditions.”
Results That Translate Beyond the Lab
All study participants—both those using traditional heavy-load resistance training and those using low-load resistance training with Suji—experienced strength gains and overall improvements in muscle function.
For Hill, the feedback was universally positive. “We heard things like, ‘After the study, I can vacuum my whole house. I can walk my dog around the block without stopping. I don’t need as many rest breaks,’” says Hill. “In the lab, we love to see muscles grow and strength numbers climb, but the real impact is when people improve their daily lives.”
For Foster, one of the most difficult things about working out with MS is the pain. Because many people with MS are in pain on a daily basis, the thought of adding lactic acid and muscle soreness on top of the existing pain is not appealing. However, lifting just a fraction of her max with Suji, while difficult toward the end of each set, did not leave her totally spent and with debilitatingly sore muscles the way a traditional heavy workout would. In fact, throughout the study, Foster felt stronger and better than she had previously felt in the gym. “I didn’t feel the pain you would expect after doing a heavy workout,” she recalls. “It was painful in the moment, but afterwards, I felt good enough that I wanted to go back for another workout.”
Beyond the Study
Foster was so enthusiastic about the benefits of Suji for her MS and the knowledge she gained about both the equipment and her body that she actually went back for another study, which is still ongoing at UCF and also leverages Suji Technology (depicted below by a research team member of the STRONG Lab). This study is investigating the effects of treadmill walking with BFR on muscle function in people with MS. She also regularly incorporates BFR into her own kettlebell training to help keep the symptoms of her MS at bay.
“When it comes down to it, we are a muscle health company,” says Suji founder and CEO Alex Birks. “We want to advance people's awareness about the importance of muscular health and how it will largely dictate your quality of life. Targeted compression - Suji’s innovative take on BFR - is just a tool in our toolbox that we've come to believe is the most efficient way to improve muscular health when normal exercise is not an option, and the work they are doing at UCF supports that theory.”
This article was written and researched by Lindsay Berra.