14 Sep Personalized Blood Flow Restriction Training Literature Review

Personalized blood flow restriction (BFR) training is a training strategy (or an exercise modality) that involves exercising at low intensities (i.e. 20-35% 1-RM) while occluding venous blood flow out of a limb and restricting arterial blood flow into a limb by using a system that is calibrated based off of personalized limb occlusion pressure. This type of training is accomplished by wrapping off the proximal portion of a limb. In the upper extremity, this is done at the level of the deltoid tuberosity, while in the lower extremity this is performed at the level of the greater trochanter of the femur. As healthcare providers, we recommend using an FDA listed system to perform personalized blood flow restriction training as opposed to other methods such as knee wraps and/or voodoo bands. In this article, we will provide an in-depth review of BFR!