Blood Flow Restriction Training
Blood Flow Restriction Therapy has been around since 1966 but has recently gained a lot of popularity in the physical therapy community. There has been a recent surge in research supporting BFR, which began with military personnel returning home with traumatic injuries, and now is now widely use by colleges and professional athletes.
Blood Flow Restriction Therapy is FDA-approved to be a safe and effective system that trained medical professionals can use to help patients improve muscle strength. Blood Flow Restriction Therapy has been heavily research with over 800+ articles.
What is Blood Flow Restriction Therapy?
Blood Flow Restriction Therapy is used to help patients gain strength in injured or weak muscles while reducing the stress placed on the recovering limb. By applying external pressure to an arm or a leg using a specialized cuff, our physical therapists use a surgical grade tourniquet to apply a precise amount of pressure to the patient’s arm or leg while exercising the muscle. It is almost always used as part of a larger pain management plan that could include exercise, stretching and other techniques.
The goal is to maintain blood flow into the muscle while preventing outflow, thus maximizing strength gains while minimizing stress on muscles and joints. It can help patients recover from surgery or injury, regaining strength more quickly and with less work.
Blood Flow Restriction stimulates muscle growth/hypertrophy and can be used with arthritic joints, pre and postsurgical, and for maintenance of performance athletes.
Blood Flow Restriction will be done for no more than 20 minutes.