How Does The New Blood Flow Restriction Trend Work — 2021
Overview:
Blood Flow Restriction Rehabilitation (BFR) is a paradigm-shifting intervention for rehabilitation that briefly restricts blood flow during exercise and leads to greater strength and endurance. This safe, natural, and effective technique is used throughout the professional sports world. A few minutes of restriction can help athletes make significant gains and help those recovering from injuries.
Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) using a band, similar to a pressure cuff, or a blood pressure cuff, even knee wraps to wrap over the muscle origin. So, the blood flow gets partially restricted in the working muscle while working out. Limiting the blood supply during the workout allows for a swelling effect on the muscles, which is the first mechanism of muscle growth. When muscles are under mechanical stress, the concentration of anabolic hormone levels increases. The activation of myogenic stem cells and the elevated anabolic hormones might cause the hype of proteins, metabolism, and muscle hypertrophy.
Release of hormones, hypoxia, and cell swelling occurs when a muscle is under metabolic stress. These factors are all part of the anabolism of muscle tissue.
The Benefits of Blood Flow Restriction:
Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) Training can act as an achieving rehabilitation tool because it allows a person to reap the benefits of an intense heavy weight-lifting session while only requiring them to perform low-to moderate-intensity training. It reduces stress to tissues that may heal from a recent injury or surgery.
Any exercise, resistance, or aerobic brings about a significant increase in growth hormone. Insulin-like growth factors and growth hormones handle increased collagen synthesis after a workout and aid muscle recovery. Growth hormone itself does not directly cause muscle hypertrophy, but it aids muscle recovery and potentially facilitates the muscle strengthening process. Muscle hypertrophy is the increase in the muscle’s size and an increase in the protein content within the fibres. An increase in the cross-sectional area of the limb directly correlates with an increase in strength.
Below is a list of benefits-
- Improve growth hormone and testosterone naturally
- Improved muscular strength
- The increased fibrous cross-sectional area
- Prevention of muscular atrophy
- Development of newer and healthier blood vessels
- Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease
- Improved bone mineral density
- Little to no muscle damage
- Little to no recovery is needed
- Little to no soreness or delayed onset muscular soreness (DOMS)
- Low intensity needed
- Make significant post-surgery gains
- Improved muscle endurance in 1/3 of the time.
- Improved muscle gain in the elderly patients to help stop muscle atrophy, bone density changes, ultimately leading to safer and more active life.
How Blood Flow Restriction Causes Muscles to Work Harder:
BFR workouts involve periods of exercise and rest. During the exercise periods: the blood rapidly circulates from the heart to arteries, then to the limbs, next to the veins, and at last back to the heart. The elastic BFR bands can compare to a dam. The muscles in the limb have to work even harder to pump the venous blood past the BFR bands back to the heart. At the cellular level, this dam-like effect produces a disturbance of homeostasis that results; in lower oxygen levels in the muscle cells, acidic muscle cells, and other changes that make the muscles fatigue quickly, just like they would with heavyweights. Then, during the periods of rest, the muscle cells can recover, but it is crucial with elastic BFR that the bands must be at the position and inflated during these periods of rest to enhance the systemic benefits of BFR. According to blood occlusion training experts, this technique also leaves lactic acid trapped in the muscle. For those who don’t know, lactic acid is anabolic or muscle-building. It can turn on protein synthesis, which is another unavoidable process in the growth of muscles.
How the Human body Responds to Changing Oxygen Levels:
BFR Training allows your body to experience periods of rapid circulation of blood where oxygen is flowing throughout your entire circulatory system. The lack of oxygen in limbs is noteworthy to the body, and the central nervous system sends the message to the brain that limbs “aren’t getting enough oxygen.” It is essential to understand the decreased oxygen levels that the body experiences are temporary, safe, and pivotal for BFR to work. Once the brain gets the message that less oxygen is freely flowing, the brain sends out an “alert” to the endocrine system. The endocrine system involves glands that release certain hormones into the bloodstream. When using BFR, the anterior pituitary gland in the brain responds by releasing growth hormone, which helps with muscle cell reproduction, muscle cell regeneration, and lipolysis (fat breakdown).2 This alert with BFR also stimulates the release of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which is necessary for muscular hypertrophy, muscle and bone growth, and regulation of DNA synthesis.
Locally, arms and legs also sense the body’s temporary lack of normal oxygen levels. Because of this, two things happen — fast-twitch muscle fibers receive training, and a new production of muscle cells takes place.
The lack of oxygen in limbs makes muscles fatigue more quickly and allows for the training of “anaerobic, fast-twitch” muscle fibers. Anaerobic, fast-twitch muscle fibers are necessary to run faster and jump higher. These include muscle groups like calves, quads, hamstrings, biceps, triceps, and other muscle groups that may be key in your rehabilitation.
The lack of oxygen at the cellular level encourages protein synthesis.1,2,5 Protein synthesis is key to muscle repair and muscle strength.
Rehabilitation effects of Blood Flow Restriction:
Blood Flow Restriction methods provide rehabilitation gains at a Faster Rate, and many studies show similar physiological benefits when compared with heavy, high-intensity exercise to light to moderate intensity exercise with the use of BFR. And it is not always possible following surgery, as it can sometimes be painful or cause too much stress for injured tissue.
Lifting heavy weight is significant for muscle building and muscle hypertrophy. BFR training makes the brain and limbs think they are working harder than they are — all while lifting low-to-moderate weight and working at moderate intensity. And what’s even better is that BFR Training helps in achieving these physiological benefits at a faster rate compared to general rehabilitation exercises. Ultimately, BFR training supports our patients’ return to regular movement patterns and activities!
Some Contraindications of BFR:
Although blood flow restriction training is proven to be safe, and injury resulting from this type of training is rare, several contraindications of BFR training must be made note of by performing this safely. Always be cautious and screen possible BFR users.
Below is just a small list of some of the many contraindications:
- Diabetes.
- Pregnancy.
- Less than 12 years of age.
