Another BFR Success Story: A Return to Running
People go through phases. Some phases are good and some phases are bad. In our success story today, we meet a 60-year-old grandmother of three (all under 3 years old!) who insidiously went from being a marathon runner to an overweight sedentary version of herself. Then…a yearly physical and some blood work led to a drastic change of perspective and lit the flames of change!
Let’s call our lovely patient, Jennifer. Jennifer was never a runner until five years ago. At the time, she adopted an older dog that needed A LOT of exercise. She began walking with the dog once per day, then twice per day… then the walk turned into a a walk/jog combo, then a full jog…you see where this is going, right? As the months passed, Jennifer lost over 30 pounds and ran multiple 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, and finally a marathon! Sadly, yet quite metaphorically, the dog who ran by her side through it all peacefully passed away in Jennifer’s arms the night after the marathon, almost to say… “My work here is done. Now go enjoy a long and healthy life!”
After the dog died, Jennifer continued running, however put competing on hold due to some lagging injuries from her marathon training. Life went on, work became stressful, her husband was diagnosed with cancer, and she had three grandchildren in 2 years. Running soon became less of a priority and holiday cookies, coffee, and weeknight TV became her desired release. Naturally, she began to gain weight and become deconditioned. Jennifer also began suffering feelings of anxiety and depression (in her own words, not an official diagnosis). Blood work from a yearly physical determined that she was pre-diabetic, which struck her to the core. Her grandchildren flashed before her eyes and the reality sunk in that if she did not make changes to her life, she would limit the amount and quality of time spent with them. To top it off, she was dealing with nagging knee pain, which was her reason (dare I say, excuse?) for not exercising. When a BFR provider hears load intolerance due to pain, we answer the call!
Jennifer reached out to and we began our journey. We ruled out red flags and dove into some of the possible psychosocial contributors to her symptoms, such as stress, lack of sleep, depression, and feelings of worthlessness. I suggested that she gradually return to running as well as participate in progressive resistance exercise. She understood my reasoning and was on board!
For the resistance exercise, we used BFR due to her load intolerance from easily provoked knee pain. The BFR training started with Pillar 1 and some isometrics. We started with quad sets then progressed to isometrics at 90 degrees of knee flexion. The lengthened 90 degrees position created more mechanical tension and therefore a more powerful stimulus for adaptation. After two sessions, we started gentle cycling on a stationary bike, which was tolerated well, so we quickly progressed to squats, leg presses, and knee extensions.
Jennifer began to experience less pain and more desire to get fit. She changed her diet almost instantaneously and bought herself a shiny new pair of running shoes, which helped further rekindle her flame once again. Her pain was significantly less…almost non-existent…and just two short months after walking into my office, she was registered for a 5K! No rocking chairs in sight for this grandmother just yet!
Was BFR training the reason Jennifer turned her life around? Of course not. Did BFR training play a key role in decreasing the barrier to exercise? You bet! The key to Jennifer’s success was that she had a goal bigger than herself. She wasn’t motivated by weight loss or competitive aspirations, but rather her overall longevity and quality of life with her children, grandchildren, and husband.
Are you ready to meet the growing demand as a Confident BFR Provider?
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Our course is for both Rehab and Fitness professionals and will provide everything you will need to overcome the three hurdles for successful BFR Training and help guide you to become a Confident Successful BFR Provider.
****Remember, the use of BFR training should not be based solely on a success story. The decision to use BFR, or any treatment for that matter, should be based on the pillars of evidence-based practice.
