The use of a blood pressure cuff specifically designed for use in a therapeutic setting has been shown to be effective in enhancing both strength and hypertrophy when the cuff is used during active exercise. Physiotherapists are trained to utilize blood flow restriction training with clients who are not able to exercise using heavy high loads that are traditionally thought to produce the best strength and hypertrophy effects. Blood flow restriction training allows clients to exercise at lower loads (loads as low as 30% of 1 rep max) and still achieve similar strength and hypertrophy gains as those who trained at traditional high loads (Hughs et al. 2022). This allows clients who cannot tolerate the mechanical stress of high load exercise such as those recovering from injury, surgery, or those with osteoarthritis to participate in meaningful rehabilitative exercise programs to build strength and hypertrophy muscles. Hughes, L., Paton, B., Rosenblatt, B., Gissane, C., & Patterson, S. D. (2017). Blood flow restriction training in clinical musculoskeletal rehabilitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 51(13), 1003–1011.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-097071
