Low Load BFR Dynamic Exercise Superior to Electrical Stimulation with BFR

 If you’ve followed the BFR Pros for any amount of time, you are likely familiar with the Pillars of blood flow restriction training. If not, here’s a quick recap:

We must first understand that Pillar one is fleeting. We want to spend as little time in Pillar 1 as possible, then get the heck out of there. There are two main goals of Pillar 1: muscle preservation and acclimation to BFR to prepare for Pillars 2-4. Pillar 1 works through cell swelling, which is the process by which muscle cells experience a rapid influx of fluid due to the build up of metabolites associated with BFR training.

Bergamasco (2021) provided the first support for the superiority of the progressions through the BFR training pillars (Pillar 1 -> 3) and why it’s important to try to have our patients exercise dynamically as soon as possible. This study used a within-subject design and had one leg perform 23 minutes of electrical stimulation at 100% occlusion pressure while the other performed low-load leg extensions at20% 1RM using 60% personalized pressure. Both muscle mass AND perceptual outcomes were superior with dynamic BFR.

The results show a superiority of the dynamic exercise approach, which supports the BFR PROS teachings of getting people off of passive/electrically induced stimulation protocols as soon as possible to more active approaches. The next study I’d like to see is a comparison to aerobic exercise with BFR…

What do you think?  Are these results surprising? What further research would you like to see?

Source:

Bergamasco JGA, Alvarez IF, Biazon TMPC, Ugrinowitsch C, Augusto Libardi C. Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Combined With Resistance Training or Neuromuscular Electrostimulation on Muscle Cross-Sectional Area. J Sport Rehabil. 2022 Mar 1;31(3):319-324. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2021-0101. Epub 2021 Dec 20. PMID: 34929663.

****Remember, the decision to use BFR, or any treatment for that matter, should be based on the pillars of evidence-based practice.

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