Blood Flow Restriction

Blood flow restriction training or BFR, is a type of strength training popularised in recent years to promote faster hypertrophy and recovery of strength post-injury or surgery. It involves using a band to restrict the blood flow to the working muscles so that they will have to adapt to working in an environment which is oxygen-deprived. This forces the muscles to adapt faster thus speeding up the recovery of muscle strength and size.

Using BFR also allows a much lower load to be utilised compared to larger loads in traditional strength training. This is especially important and beneficial after surgery as joints are prone to increases in swelling and pain when attempting heavier loads.