BFR Training… What is it and should I be using it???

Blood Flow Restriction training or BFR training, has become more common in recent times to help accelerate and optimise rehabilitation.

Traditionally, to recover from injury you subject muscles to ever increasing loads, forcing them to adapt and grow, to improve strength and performance.

However, in many conditions or stages of recovery, increasing the load on certain joints or muscles is not appropriate.  Take for example, someone who is recovering from a lower limb stress fracture. One method that can ensure that the muscles are still being challenged to adapt is BFR training.

Occluding the blood flow via some restriction cuffs, forces the muscles to work under conditions of stress with less load, leading to adaptation.  By restricting both the venous outflow and arterial inflow of blood to the muscles working, hypertrophic gains can be achieved with 20-40% of a persons 1 rep max. 

This is perfect for early stage rehab post-op and or if people are immobilised in boots/ braces etc.  Being able to maintain some strength and muscle mass in the early stages of recovery, means a quicker general overall return to play.

With Portside Sports Physio having its own set of Blood Flow Restriction cuffs, we are ready to tackle you individual rehab needs head on, at any stage of injury.  Book in today online to see if BFR training is needed to help you get back to what you love, ASAP.