Have you been working through post-injury rehabilitation and found that your muscle mass has decreased? You may know that lifting high weights at low repetitions can increase size–but if you’re recovering from injury or surgery, you can probably not exercise with heavy resistance or high intensity. Fortunately, blood flow restriction training is an excellent tool for increasing your muscle growth potential without risking reinjury.
Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is a strength-building technique that is becoming popular and more supported by solid evidence. At Rose City Physical Therapy, we’ve adapted it into our clinical practice to help patients with injuries or people recovering from orthopedic surgeries restore strength and muscle mass as part of their rehabilitation.
On paper, the technique is simple: by restricting blood flow to a muscle area during a lower-intensity strength training session, you trick your body into building muscle without a high-load workout.
If you live in Portland, OR, and want to know if blood flow restriction training might be the right choice, contact us to speak to one of our orthopedic and sports physical therapists!
How Blood Flow Restriction Training Affects Strength and Muscle Growth
Muscle growth is a biological process known as hypertrophy. Hypertrophy involves purposefully breaking down the muscles through high-load exercise. As your muscles recover from the mico-damage, they become bigger and stronger.
That high-load exercise also reduces oxygen delivery to the impacted muscle, which leads to the production of lactic acid–another factor in building bigger, stronger muscles. It also promotes blood circulation into the area, further improving muscle growth potential.
The standard way of jumpstarting these three biological processes is through resistance training with heavy weights. Unfortunately, heavy weightlifting is likely out of the question if you’re rehabilitating after an injury or surgery. It simply puts too much stress on the injured or post-surgical area(s).
Blood flow restriction training offers another solution. Rather than lifting heavy weights, you lift lighter weights. The crucial difference is that you perform these lower-load exercises while wearing a specialized cuff that allows blood to flow into the affected area but restricts it from flowing out.
Doing so jumpstarts the same processes as more traditional high-weight resistance training. It damages muscle fibers and creates the same low-oxygen environment that facilitates lactic acid production. As a result, someone undergoing BFR training will see muscle gains similar to those of someone utilizing heavy weightlifting.
The Benefits of BFR Training for Strength and Muscle Growth Potential
BFR training offers many benefits, especially for people rehabilitating after an injury or surgery. At this point, you need to focus on restoring strength and functionality–but you aren’t yet at a place where you can safely pick up a heavy-weight training program.
Here are a few of the benefits of blood flow restriction training:
- Improved Gains: A BFR program lasting 4-6 weeks can generate a 10%- 20% increase in muscle mass–about what you would expect from a high-load weight training program of similar length.
- No Joint Pressure: High-load and high-impact strength training can put a lot of stress on your joints. The low-weight exercises used in BFR training will not. This is a big part of why BFR training is so practical for people early in rehabilitation.
- No Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness: Have you ever felt sore a day or two after an intense weightlifting session? You likely won’t have that experience with BFR training, as the lighter load doesn’t trigger the biological processes that lead to post-workout soreness.
- Proven Safe for Most People: Purposefully restricting blood flow might sound dangerous, but the process is highly safe. While some groups should not use BFR training–such as pregnant women or people with cardiac health issues–for most people, it’s as safe as standard strength training.
What To Expect During BFR Training at Rose City Physical Therapy
Our physical therapists can let you know if you’re a good candidate for blood flow restriction training. Generally speaking, we use it for people who need to restore muscle size and strength during rehabilitation. However, it’s also an effective complement to more standard workout programs.
During your training session, your physical therapist will restrict your blood flow. This is not a matter of simply strapping on a homemade tourniquet! Instead, we’ll use a specialized cuff that allows us to adjust its pressure, ensuring blood flows in but can not flow out.
The BFR cuff also needs specific placement, and we’ll also correctly place your cuff. Remember to wear clothes that allow easy access to the area!
We’ll also help you determine the proper weight load for your exercises. You want to aim for a weight that’s 20%-40% of your 1RM (one-rep maximum–basically, how much weight can you safely lift for just one rep). We have scientific equations to determine a 1RM without lifting a heavy weight. We’ll also let you know how many reps you need to perform. The standard is approximately 80 reps across four sets, with breaks between each set.
Finally, we’ll let you know which exercises you need to perform. We will demonstrate and educate you on the movements and ensure you perform them correctly. We’ll also monitor your progress and make adjustments–including increasing your weight level as you get stronger.
Experience the Benefits of Blood Flow Restriction Training for Yourself!
Regarding muscle growth potential, BFR training is an excellent tool for anyone who can’t safely undertake a heavy-weight training program. If you’re ready to see all that BFR training offers, schedule an appointment today at Rose City Physical Therapy in Portland, OR. Our physical therapists can’t wait to help you get started!