Another BFR Success Story: Being a Grandfather!
What happens when life throws you curve balls? You sit back and crush it out of the park! Today, we are highlighting how BFR training played an integral role in getting a hardworking grandfather of three back to his most important role…being a grandfather!
The patient was a 61 year old male with left hip and knee pain. X-rays were positive for osteoarthritis in both areas, but otherwise unremarkable. He was a cancer survivor, a hard working carpenter, and a loving grandfather. He enjoyed doing yard work and playing with his grandchildren. Even though he was extremely physically active (carpenter, chopping firewood, playing with grandchildren, etc.) he did not perform any formal structured exercise. He presented with weakness, stiffness, pain with sitting and standing, and decreased walking/standing tolerance. His symptoms got to the point where they were limiting his ability to perform work duties and care for his grandchildren.
We started this patient with low intensity cycling with BFR. He was too advanced for passive BFR, but not quite appropriate to jump right into resistance training with BFR. We started at 60% LOP and performed 15 minutes of cycling. We deflated the cuff every minute, for 1 minute and eventually progressed to a 3 min inflated and 1 minute deflated cycle with moderate intensity peddling. We then began some leg extensions with BFR after a few traditional sets of assisted squats and leg presses. We progressed to heavier loads and eventually applied the BFR to the leg press. Over the course of a few weeks, we stopped the BFR and were progressively loading with traditional resistance exercise. We also integrated some activity-specific exercises, like loaded carries and deadlifts to mimic lifting/carrying his grandchildren.
He ended up with less pain and more resiliency after all was said and done. He is back to work and is enjoying every moment with his grandchildren. While it is great that his pain improved, what is more important is that he learned the benefits of exercise. Pain was preventing him from enjoying the precious moments of his life, and BFR smashed down that barrier!
Are you ready to meet the growing demand as a Confident BFR Provider?
Be sure to check out our engaging 4-hour On Demand On-Line BFR Training course right HERE
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.
