Taken together, the results of these studies, together with available case reports, strongly support that BFR-RE can induce significant muscle damage and sometimes even rhabdomyolysis in otherwise healthy subjects, although this probably depends on factors such as the individual's training status as well as the. One of the main indirect markers of muscle damage that we can use if prolonged strength reduction lasts longer than 24 hours. Applying this to the results of this review, it can be suggested that low-load training with BFR does not lead to prolonged muscle damage. This contrasts with training with high repetitions and volume with BFR, which leads to prolonged muscle damage, being the most damaging sessions BFR with high muscle failure load.
As stated above, the participant wears special bands on the highest possible part of their arms or legs. The bands create a restriction in this area, reducing blood flow in and out of the muscle. It is very important to note that you do not want to completely occlude the blood flow during exercise, as this can lead to serious injury. Therefore, why do we use special bands that have been designed and studied to restrict only blood flow.
Reduced blood flow to the muscles reduced the supply of oxygen (O), which is a great source of fuel for our slow-twitch muscle fibers (type 1b). The restriction also leads to an accumulation of metabolites, lactate and hydrogen ions (H+) in the muscles, causing blood pH levels to drop. It is proposed that lowering blood pH triggers a chemical reaction, which eventually initiates muscle repair. Once the bands are released, there is an increase in blood flow back to the muscles, which is believed to explain the cellular inflammation.
Let's take a closer look at each mechanism. If pathophysiology is not your thing, I recommend you go to the bottom. As discussed above, the BFR allows the participant to exercise with reduced loads and volumes, but still receive the benefits that working with higher loads and volumes would gain. In summary, the evidence from this review suggests that the use of blood flow training at high training loads up to muscle failure leads to marked levels of muscle damage and should be avoided.
BFR has been shown to be a safe and effective modality for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. BFR is a training method that requires the participant to wear special bands around their proximal arms or legs while exercising. Therefore, professionals can use a principle of progressive overload in structuring resistance training with BFR programs in clinical settings. MEDLINE, PubMed, WoS, CINAHL, LILACS and SportDiscus were the journals selected for the search using the descriptors “resistance training” OR “strength training” AND “kaatsu” OR “vascular occlusion” OR “blood flow restriction” AND “muscle damage”.
We found that the use of sets to failure seems to be a determining point for changes in indirect measures of muscle damage after low-load resistance training with BFR, especially in subjects who are not used to resistance training. In fact, BFR protocols not based on recently reported failures from this same group show similar results to failure protocols (Sieljacks et al. This study systematized the available scientific evidence on changes in muscle damage markers after resistance training with BFR sessions. In view of the above, the purpose of this review was to systematically analyze the evidence on the occurrence of muscle damage after resistance training sessions with restriction of blood flow.
Therefore, equalizing the training volume between experimental conditions based on the number of repetitions achieved in the BFR exercise can generate misinterpretations, since it is a comparison between a maximum exercise condition vs.
BFR training
can be seen as an emerging clinical modality to achieve physiological adaptations for people who cannot safely tolerate high muscle tension exercise or those who cannot produce volitional muscle activity.Blood flow restriction
(BFR) alone or in combination with exercise has been shown to cause muscle hypertrophy and increased strength in a variety of populations. ..