Muscle weakness is highly prevalent among the most clinical musculoskeletal problems world-wide.
Current American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines recommend that individuals perform resistance training at a load of minimal 65% of 1RPM to achieve strength and hypertrophy gains.
In rehabilitation or directly after surgery, patients are not allowed and often contraindicated to rehab and exercise with such loads.
Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) is a training method partially restricting arterial inflow and fully restricting venous outflow in working musculature during exercise. It works through the application of an external pressure, typically using a pneumatic tourniquet/cuff system applied to the most proximal section of the upper or lower limbs.
Research effects on a proper use and safe application of BFR Training already proved that individuals gain mass and strength of muscles similar to high load training while utilizing very low loads as 20-30% of 1RPM.
BFR strength training is a clinically relevant musculoskeletal rehabilitation tool as it does not require the high joint forces associated with heavy-load exercise. This outcome is very useable for rehabilitation purposes in general and Strength & Conditioning.
BFR is a great Evidence-Based tool to rehabilitate our patients / athletes without anticipating the timing of the musculoskeletal problem.
In Sports Rehab our physical therapists implement BFR through an automatic device that constantly monitors the limbs occlusion, in order to provide the best Evidence-Based rehabilitation in the safest way possible to our patients / athletes.
BFR is applied during both voluntary resistance exercise and aerobic exercise, and also passively without exercise.
Moreover, BFR in completely safe and helps gaining hypertrophy without putting load over joints.