Blog post produced and written by Clinic Manager and Sports Injury Specialist Jason Dodd. Blood Flow Restriction Training in Rehabilitation.
For some of us, this type of training may seem like a brand new, never tried before concept. Whilst many of us are familiar with HIIT or Circuit training and it's benefits, the question I will ask you here is 'what do you do if you cannot train due to pain'? That is where Blood Flow Restriction training comes in.
First, what is BFR? The clue is in the title. It is training where you restrict the blood flow to a particular area.
But what's the point? The scientific statement is as follows "By occluding venous outflow from the extremity, the resulting anaerobic environment promotes muscle hypertrophy through cell signalling and hormonal changes similar to what is seen at higher-intensity training with more resistance".
What Is Blood Flow Restriction Training and How Does It Work?
In simple terms, by restricting the blood flow, you enable the body to work with lower weights yet gain the same effects as high intensity weight training. This is beneficial in those who are suffering from conditions such as Osteoarthritis in the knee as weak quadriceps muscles are a big reason for this condition. Gold standard treatment centres around the development of strength in the affected area but often the patient is unable to perform the necessary strength programme due to pain being the limiting factor.
This is where BFR can be really beneficial. By reducing the blood flow and using a lower weight, we are able to reduce pain whilst developing the strength needed to treat the condition.
Here at Bodylogics we have invested in some state of the art Blood Flow Restriction Cuffs and the results we have seen so far have been nothing short of amazing. One patient in particular had been struggling with pain in their knee and had been given a programme from another Physiotherapy company and came to me struggling with pain induced from the heavy weighted exercise programme they were completing. After reviewing the exercise programme, it was concluded that the actual programme itself was not the issue, it was the fact the patient could not perform the desired reps to get the benefits due to the pain he was experiencing.
The Progress Can Be Even Better With Blood Flow Restriction Training Added
Instead, we took the same programme and tried applying the industry leading protocol whilst using the BFR cuffs and the patient was not only able to perform all the exercises but has also reached a position whereby they are now pain free in every day life as a result of the increase strength they have achieved.
This evidence of how it works and its success is supported by various research papers, but the paper by Wartman et al, 2020, Blood Flow Restriction Training for Athletes, A Systematic Review is a particular favourite of mine for those interested in finding out more on the topic. They conclude 'The literature appears to support that BFR can lead to improvements in strength, muscle size, and markers of sports performance…'
If you are interested in finding out more, or know of someone who is struggling with their rehab due to pain, then get in touch now and we can start their journey to a stronger and more robust individual.
