Blood Flow Restriction and Recovery
Blood flow Restriction (BFR) training may be new to some of you. That is okay as this new piece of technology has not been routinely used in the world of rehab and sports performance for very long. The original concept is simple, cut off blow flow to the muscle and train it. This triggers a cascade of events that improves muscle growth and strength. But what other applications does this equipment have? One area being explored is recovery. A few studies have come out looking at and comparing BFR’s effects on recovery. And as athletes, we all want an edge on recovery. Let's dive in and see that BFR has to offer.
BFR and Blood Flow
The purpose of BFR is to cut off blow flow, however after the computerized tourniquet is turned off there is a measurable spike in nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a molecule in the body that dilates your blood vessels. While researchers are not 100% sure why this happens the guess is that the body is trying to over compensate for the lack of blood flow that body part just experienced. For example, if BFR was applied to your arm cutting off 80% of the blood, upon release the body wants to make sure that region gets resupplied. It does this by flooding it with more than it typically gets.
Blood is the key ingredient for recovery. It carries nutrients, oxygen, and helps clean up debris. So a rush of this should help, right?
One study looked at BFR compared to a SHAM treatment. Athletes performed 100 drop jumps (ouch) to trigger quad soreness. After the 100th drop jump half the athletes received BFR, and the others got a very light version of BFR that does not cut off blood flow. The BFR was done for 3 sets of 5 minutes. Researchers measured muscle contraction strength, quad circumference, a max vertical jump, and Creatine Kinase (an inflammatory marker in your blood). The results showed that the true BFR group has less Creatine Kinase in their system, and a stronger quad contraction. No differences were noted with a max vertical and quad size. This study showed that BFR can reduce inflammatory markers and keep the quad functioning better after exercise. That is something that can be worth 15 minutes.
BFR compared to Active Recovery and NMES
The all time GOAT of recovery is Active Recovery. Nothing improves blood flow better than exercise. Not far behind him is Neuromuscular Electric Stimulation (NMES). NMES has been clinically proven to improve blood flow up to 243% during application. Both of these methods have stood the test of time and still dominate the recovery space. With BFR being a newcomer to the world of recovery it was only necessary to place all these methods against each other and see who comes out on top.
The study had cyclists perform 3 5k Time Trials. In between each time trial the athletes performed 1 of the 3 recovery methods (BFR, Active Recovery, NMES) for 30 minutes. Their performance on the time trials was then measured. The results? All 3 groups had similar results. All riders showed an increase in blood flow, a clearance of metabolic waste, and improvements in muscle oxygen.
This study showed that BFR can hang with the big boys of recovery and produce results which is awesome.
The One Downside
I cannot highlight all the positives of BFR without mentioning the downside. The main issue with BFR is for the purpose of recovery it only really works for the extremities. All the research is done for the arms or the legs, but this makes sense. It can not cut off blood flow to our trunk from the heart. Therefore if you have a sore low back, sore glutes from leg day, or soreness in your mid-back, BFR is not an option for you in terms of recovery. Thus that makes this recovery tool limited.
The Recovery BFR Protocol
So now that we know BFR is a legitimate recovery method, how do we use it? The research makes this very simple. This is because all the studies used the same protocol. Athletes performed 3 sets of 5 minutes of BFR to the desired body part. The BFR cut off about 100% of blood flow during this time.
Now, cutting off 100% of blood flow is nothing to play around with. You typically do not want to stay in that state for longer than 20 minutes in a row. Surpassing that time has been shown to cause necrosis in the tissue. I would highly recommend not using a band or other non-computerized method of cutting off the blood. There is just no way to tell how much you're cutting off. My recommendation would be to get in and see a PT who is trained in BFR, or at the very least purchase a computerized model like Smart Tools offers.
Now go ahead and give it a try!
References
Similar Recovery of Maximal Cycling Performance after Ischemic Preconditioning, Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation or Active Recovery in Endurance Athletes, PMID: 33239951
2. Effects of low-intensity cycle training with restricted leg blood flow on thigh muscle volume and VO2max in young men. PMID: 24149640
3. Blood Flow Restriction Exercise: Considerations of Methodology, Application, and Safety. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00533
