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A Case Series
ABSTRACT
Background: Blood flow restricted (BFR) training, the KEYWORDS: strengthening, muscle mass, tourniquet, physi-
brief and partial restriction of venous outflow of an ex- cal therapy, blood flow restriction, vascular occlusion
tremity during low load resistance exercises, is a safe
and effective method of improving strength in healthy,
active individuals. A relatively unexplored potential of
Introduction
this adjunctive modality lies in treating patients with
severe musculoskeletal trauma, persistent chronic quad- BFR training has been studied in the preclinical setting
riceps and hamstring weakness despite traditional ther- through animal testing, primarily in an equine model.1
apy, and low improvement during early postoperative Preliminary clinical testing includes low-intensity walk-
strengthening. Methods: This case series describes pa- training in the elderly and more targeted studies looking
tients with chronic quadriceps and hamstring weakness at the muscle of younger, healthy subjects; the combi-
who received an intervention of BFR at low loads, 20% nation of these studies show BFR training being linked
of 1 repetition max (1RM), to restore strength. A case to changes in hormones, myogenic stem cell prolifera-
series was conducted of seven patients, all located at one tion, and protein synthesis.1–7 It has also been proved
hospital and all with traumatic lower extremity injuries. to be safe and effective in achieving muscular strength
The seven patients were treated at the same medical and hypertrophy in healthy adults or in elderly patients
center and with the same BFR protocol. All seven pa- with sarcopenia.3,8,9 BFR training is not widely used in
tients had isokinetic dynamometer testing that showed rehabilitation for chronic muscle weakness secondary
persistent thigh muscle weakness despite previous re- to trauma. Based on a search of the literature through
habilitation with traditional therapy and 35% to 75% online databases (using “occlusion training” or “blood
peak torque deficit in either knee extension or flexion flow restriction” and “rehabilitation” or “physical ther-
compared with the contralateral lower extremity. Pa- apy”), this case series is the first to incorporate BFR use
tients underwent 2 weeks of BFR training therapy using as part of a physical therapy rehabilitation protocol in a
a pneumatic tourniquet set at 110mmHg while perform- patient population who has difficulty performing high-
ing leg extensions, leg presses, and reverse leg presses. resistance exercises due to their injuries.
All affected extremities were retested after 2 weeks (six
treatment sessions). Dynamometer measurements were
Discussion
done with flexion and extension at two speeds: 90º and
300º/sec. The data recorded included peak torque nor- Rehabilitation programs primarily focus on regaining
malized for body weight, average power, and total work. muscular strength and endurance, but need to include
Results: All seven patients demonstrated improvements restoration of joint range of motion (ROM). Muscles
in peak torque, average power, and total work for both must be strong enough to withstand long periods of
knee flexion and extension, with power being the most physical activity to improve proprioception, indepen-
improved overall. Peak torque improved an average of dence in daily living activities, and (lost or weakened)
13% to 37%, depending on contraction direction and sports-specific or job-specific skills.
speed. Average power improved an average of 42% to
81%, and total work improved an average of 35% to Because strength is such an important foundation, the
55%. Conclusion: BFR therapy at low loads can affect American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) pub-
improvement in muscle strength in patients who are un- lished guidelines on the best resistance training practices
able to perform high-resistance exercise or patients who to achieve the goals of strength, power, and endurance.10
have persistent extremity weakness despite traditional The recommended muscular load for a given resistance
therapy. exercise ranges from 60% to 100% of the one-repetition
48
maximum (1RM).10 Traditionally, loads less than this do improved muscular endurance, and muscle hypertro-
not achieve type II muscle recruitment, muscle hypertro- phy.1,20,30 Both elderly populations and healthy, young
phy and strength, and improvement in endurance dur- athletes improve ambulation and muscular strength.2,3,8,19
ing resistance training.7,11 Patients benefit from BFR who cannot participate in tra-
ditional strength-training exercises or those with chronic
An issue inherent in the ACSM guidelines, when ap- muscle weakness. Due to these solid, projected benefits,
plied to musculoskeletal injuries, is that some patients BFR has been incorporated into a supervised physical
are unable to tolerate these high resistance loads due therapy program for patients with chronic muscle weak-
to instability, pain, post-traumatic osteoarthritis, neu- ness after trauma at our institution.
rologic deficits, volumetric muscle loss, or postsurgical
restrictions.12–16 BFR therapy, however, is not hindered
by the same limitations.16 This modality improves mus- Methods
cular strength and power with resistance at 20% 1RM,
changes that are typically only seen when exercising at Participants
80% of an individual’s 1RM.1,17–19 As a result, we be- All seven patients were seen at our facility, a rehabilita-
lieve that orthopedic-injured rehabilitation patients who tion center dedicated to active duty Servicemembers. The
are unable to tolerate heavy mechanical loads may ben- patients had attended regular physical therapy sessions
efit from low load BFR training. for lower extremity rehabilitation for a variety of rea-
sons. All had chronic quadriceps and/or hamstring mus-
This low-intensity exercise paired with restricted muscu- cle weakness and were at least 3 months from their last
lar venous blood flow was first developed with the intent surgical procedure, and their strength improvement was
of restricting venous outflow and thus increasing fatigue limited by their inability to successfully use traditional
of the affected muscle at low-intensity resistance.18,20 resistance training. To objectively monitor improve-
Early human studies indicate muscle hypertrophy and ments in strength, our patients were tested with a Biodex
strength gains in healthy adults and eldery patients with System 3 isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Medical Sys-
sarcopenia.2,3,8,19 Some studies have also indicated that tems, Inc; http://www.biodex.com/). All individuals had
BFR maintains these gains for a longer duration after their contralateral extremity measured for comparison,
training compared with standard practices. 6 but some patients also had bilateral rehabilitation needs.
All patients had dynamometer measurements for the af-
A persistent problem in chronic injuries, especially in the fected lower extremity on at least two occasions during
extremities, is regaining the required strength and endur- their course of treatment and were using BFR therapy as
ance of atrophied or traumatized musculature.21 This is part of their rehabilitation routine for a minimum of 2
demonstrated repeatedly in the literature where even rela- weeks (six treatment sessions).
tively simple lower extremity fractures can leave patients
with strength deficits years after their injury.22-26 An exam- The BFR therapy resistance training at our facility is the
ple of the pervasiveness of this problem was demonstrated same for all lower extremity rehabilitation patients. The
by Lebrun, who studied patients with patella fractures.26 equipment used includes a Hokanson AG 101 cuff insu-
Even years after operative treatment and bone healing, lator air source, E20 rapid cuff inflator, and cc17 thigh
patients continued to show functional deficits, including cuff (Hokanson, Bellevue, WA 98005). All patients
an average 30% deficit in knee extension power. 26 Neu- participated in BFR training 3 days a week for 2 weeks
romuscular recruitment is the initial step in the rehabilita- during their physical therapy sessions. Initially, all ex-
tion process, but once this is achieved further gains must ercises were performed without BFR to determine the
be made with muscle hypertrophy as muscle regeneration individual’s one repetition maximum (1RM). Then, an
is limited.14,15,27 Trauma-induced musculoskeletal injuries appropriately sized cuff was selected so that it fit around
are associated with several factors that limit rehabilita- the patient’s thigh, as proximal to the groin as comfort-
tion.21,27 A common factor is the frequent post-operative able, and covered approximately one-third of the thigh
restriction on strengthening following fixation of frac- length. The weight for each individual exercise started
tures or reconstruction of soft tissue injuries.13,15,21 An- at no more than 20% of the patient’s measured 1RM of
other is volumetric muscle loss, which has emerged as a the injured limb. With the cuff inflated to 110mmHg for
debilitating condition for wounded Servicemembers due the duration of one exercise performance, each exercise
to associated functional weakness.21,28,29 There are no (knee extension, leg press, and reverse leg press) was per-
current solutions for functionally addressing volumetric formed in four sets, each set to failure, with a 30-second
muscle loss for these patients.21 rest between sets. All sets for the knee extension were
performed before moving to the leg press and later the
Previous studies have demonstrated that with BFR reverse leg press. The time to reach muscle failure was
training, individuals obtain significant strength gains, recorded for each of the four sets. When a patient was