Blood Flow Restriction for Rehabilitation

Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) is an effective, safe, evidence-based treatment to use in the rehabilitation setting. It involves the brief occlusion or restriction of arterial blood flow in, and venous blood flow out of the limb during rest or exercise. It is highly evidence-based and has shown to result in rapid improvements in muscle strength and functional aerobic capacity in shorter amounts of time than traditionaltraining. Blood flow restriction is achieved by applying a tourniquet or cuff to the patient's upper or lower extremities tocreate an environment where the brain and body think it is performing high intensity exercise when very low resistance is used.

In this workshop you will learn how to determine which use of BFR is appropriate for your patient, determine the proper percentages of limb occlusion and resistance to use during exercise, and learn the repetition/duration protocol and best practice guidelines. Hands-on labs will allow participants to properly apply the BFR cuff to patients and experience BFR for themselves. The lab sessions will also include low resistance exercises with BFR, aerobic activities with BFR, and other applications appropriate to the rehab setting. The tools learned during this course will enable the clinician to immediately apply BFR to their current patient population.

Target Audience: Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Athletic Trainers

Highlights

• Physiological principles and benefits of BloodFlow Restriction (BFR)
• Practical assessment and application of BFR to a wide range of patients
• Effective, evidence-based application guidelines to see muscle strength and girth changes in as quickly as 3 weeks
• Best practices to improve post-surgical recovery time and pain conditions and improve ADL function
• Indications and contraindications ofBFR in a patient population
• Various uses of BFR to accomplish PT and OT goals along the rehab spectrum
• Hands-on lab to learn the safe application of BFR