Blood Flow Restriction Therapy (BFR) is a novel approach utilized through geriatric, athletic, and general population patients to safely increase strength, size, and mobility while significantly decreasing the stress of muscles and joints. By briefly limiting or occluding blood flow to an exercising limb, you can exercise at only 10-20% of normal resistance loads and achieve equal strength and hypertrophy benefits as high-intensity workouts. Working at these low loads allows athletes to deload joints, post-op patients to heal faster, and painful joints to gain stability without unnecessary pressure through joints and muscles. BFR is one of the most widely and intensively researched interventions in physical therapy today. It has been validated as both safe and effective in a wide range of populations. Its use ranges from professional team training rooms of all major sports to intensive care units in hospitals around the country.
Circulation restriction is performed using FDA-approved blood pressure cuff devices and is personalized to the individual user by measuring Limb Occlusion Pressure (LOP) and calculating the most effective and goal-specific percentage of occlusion. Treatments are monitored by our board-certified specialists to ensure and uphold the highest standards of safety and efficacy.
Benefits of BFR are achieved through systemic hormonal responses instead of traditional muscle break-down mechanisms; which aids in full-body recovery, decrease muscle soreness, and improves the strength of bones and ligaments. The downregulation of Myostatin (a muscle breakdown hormone) coupled with the up-regulation of Human Growth Hormone is one example of this phenomenon.
Dr. Aaron Reinisch |Â Doctor of Physical Therapy
Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist
Blood Flow Restriction Certified