Dr Luke Hughes

Associate Professor

School: Sport Exercise and Rehabilitation

Dr Luke Hughes is an exercise physiologist specialising in clinical exercise and aerospace physiology. He obtained his PhD in clinical exercise physiology in 2019, which developing a novel exercise rehabilitation technique termed “blood flow restriction exercise”.

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests:

My research focusses on understanding the physiological mechanisms of health and deconditioning, and development of novel interventions to optimise human health, performance and rehabilitation in high-performance (e.g. professional/elite sport, human spaceflight) and clinical medicine populations. Within clinical medicine, my work focusses on the use of ‘blood flow restriction exercise’, a novel low-intensity exercise intervention, to improve health in deconditioned populations and improve post-surgical outcomes in several medical conditions and diseases. I have implemented this technique in the UK National Health Service, initially through clinical trials and now as part of standard rehabilitation. I am now working to develop blood flow restriction exercise as a countermeasure to improve astronaut health and mitigate deconditioning during spaceflight, and optimise post-flight rehabilitation outcomes.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Autoregulation during blood flow restricted exercise offers no additional benefit on thigh muscle hypertrophy and strength adaptations in trained participants: a randomized within-subject 8-week trial, Akçay, N., Rolnick, N., Keskin, K., Kamiş, O., Köremezli Keskin, N., Başdemirci, O., Sofuoğlu, C., Hughes, L. 23 Feb 2026, In: Frontiers in Physiology
Editorial: Impact of blood flow restriction device features and methodological considerations on acute- and longitudinal responses to blood flow restricted exercise, Rolnick, N., Werner, T., Clarkson, M., Hughes, L. 6 Mar 2026, In: Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
Hypogravity Simulation using the Variable Gravity Suspension System: A Technical Report, Swain, P., Swain, A., Santos, F., Hughes, L., Lindsay, K., Lomax, I., Bruce-Martin, C., Caplan, N. 1 Apr 2026, In: Experimental Physiology
Neuromotor changes in postural control following bed rest, Ritzmann, R., Centner, C., Hughes, L., Waldvogel, J., Marusic, U. 15 Jan 2026, In: The Journal of Physiology
The dynamics of neuromuscular resilience across the lifespan: Ageing, disuse and intervention, Centner, C., Ritzmann, R., Marusic, U., Hughes, L. 15 Jan 2026, In: The Journal of Physiology
Variability in spatial and temporal gait dynamics during aging: a narrative review on the role of the neural system, Centner, C., Ritzmann, R., Marusic, U., Hughes, L. 23 Feb 2026, In: Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
Blood flow restriction exercise during microgravity exposure in parabolic flight, Laflamme, Y., Chassé, E., Hughes, L. 6 Aug 2025, In: Experimental Physiology
Blood flow restriction: methods and apparatus still matter, Hughes, L., Rolnick, N., Franz, A., Owens, J., Swain, P., Centner, C., Loenneke, J., Warmington, S. 1 May 2025, In: British Journal of Sports Medicine
Efficacy and acceptability of different blood flow restriction training interventions during the rehabilitation of military personnel with lower limb musculoskeletal injuries: protocol for a two-phase randomised controlled trial, Gray, L., Coppack, R., Barker-Davies, R., Cassidy, R., Bennett, A., Caplan, N., Atkinson, G., Bradshaw, L., Chauhan, J., Lunt, K., Hughes, L., Ladlow, P. 26 May 2025, In: BMJ Open
Entering a new era for exercise countermeasures in human spaceflight, De Martino, E., Swain, P., Lindsay, K., Bruce‐Martin, C., Jacobs, E., Barbour, B., Buckley, C., McDonnell, A., Caplan, N., Hughes, L. 19 Oct 2025, In: Experimental Physiology

PGR Supervision

Michael Dawes TBC Start Date: 01/03/2026
Bradley Barbour Walking and Jumping on the Moon with Blood Flow Restriction: A Spaceflight Countermeasure for Exploration Class Missions Start Date: 01/10/2024
Luke Gray Optimising the Therapeutic Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Exercise within UK Defence Rehabilitation Start Date: 01/10/2023