Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) – An Emerging Breakthrough in Rehab Care

Credit

Handouts/Brochure

Speaker

Michael Lau, PT, DPT, CSCS Related seminars and products

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Michael Lau, PT, DPT, CSCS, is one of the co-founders of The Prehab Guys, a healthcare educational platform that teaches people how to take control of their own health through online physical therapy. With a strong background in strength and conditioning, Michael likes to blend the realms of strength training and rehabilitation to provide prehab, or preventative rehabilitation, to his patients. He has a vast professional background with extensive experience and specialized training in the fields of blood flow restriction training, movement science, pain science, biomechanics, injury and surgery rehabilitation, and athletic performance.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Dr. Michael Lau is the co-founder of The Prehab Guys. He is a board advisor and holds an ownership interest in Peerwell. He receives a consulting fee from Therabody, and he receives speaking honoraria from PESI, Inc. and Smart Tools.

Non-financial: Dr. Michael Lau has no relevant non-financial relationships.

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Objectives

1. Investigate the evidence supporting blood flow restriction training  
2. Assess the populations with most to benefit from BFR 
3. Demonstrate safe and effective placement of BFR cuffs

Outline

Evidence Supporting Blood Flow Restriction Training 

• Origins 
• Research trends 
• Latest meta analyses 

Populations who benefit the most from BFR 

• Post-op, painful/load compromised, athletic endurance athletes 
• Validated with scientific evidence 
• Uses across sports medicine continuum 

How Blood Flow Restriction Training Works 

• Muscle cell physiology 
  • Metabolic pathways 
  • Hypertrophy/strength timelines 
  • Energy systems 
  • Mechanical vs metabolic stimulus 
  • Force-velocity relationship 
  • Muscle fiber recruitment 

Local skeletal muscle adaptions 

• Cell swelling 
• Metabolite induced fatigue 
• Satellite cell proliferation 
• Hypoxia 
• Bone growth 

Systematic adaptions 

• Cardiovascular system regulation 
• Pressor reflex 
• VO2max 
• VEGF 
• Soft tissue repair 
• Tendon repair 
• Muscle damage 
• Reduced pain 

Indications and Contraindications of BFRT 

• Relative vs absolute contraindications 
• Thrombus and tPA 

Placement of BFR Cuffs 

• Tourniquet and Doppler application 
• Avoidable tourniquet risks 
• Importance of LOP assessment 

Target Audience

• Physical Therapists
• Physical Therapy Assistants
• Occupational Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• Athletic Trainers