Blood Flow Restriction Training

Heard of Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFR)? There’s a lot of hype behind BFR training…and for good reason!

BFR is a “technique that combines low intensity exercise with blood flow occlusion that produces similar results to high intensity training” (1)

BFR has been predominately used in the gym setting by professional athletes, but is now being utilized in the clinic setting.

How it works: a cuff is placed on the upper or lower limb and inflated to an individual pressure in order to partially occlude arterial blood flow and completely occlude venous blood flow. The patient then performs light exercise (20-30% 1 Rep Max) with high repetitions and short rest. (1)

Why it works: BFR training creates an environment that fosters physiological adaptations of muscle fibers by creating a hypoxic state which simulates the effect of high-intensity exercise. This reduction in blood flow causes cell swelling, release of hormones, and hypoxia, which are all necessary for muscle cells to make adaptations that lead to increases in muscle cell size (1)

In other words, with blood flow restriction, muscles can gain strength with a greatly reduced effort than normally required through exercise.

A study comparing regular high or low intensity exercise with BFR high or low intensity exercise effect on torque, muscle activations and muscle endurance over a 6 week period. The high intensity regular training showed comparable results with both the high and low BFR training groups.

The results of this study show that BFR training is an effective way to make gains in muscle strength with a greatly reduced effort required in exercise.

Uses: While BFR can be used to capitalize on gains for professional athletes, BFR can also be used for populations that can’t perform high intensity exercise due to an injury, post-surgery, or other limiting conditions. It can be a great way to continue making improvements in performance, pain, and muscular endurance even while injured or limited.

Note BFR should only be utilized by a trained provider such as a physical therapist.

Want to learn more about BFR?

References:

(1) Blood Flow Restriction Training. (2022, August 18). Physiopedia, . Retrieved 15:53, October 4, 2022 from https://www.physio-pedia.com/index.php?title=Blood_Flow_Restriction_Training&oldid=315021.