blood flow restriction therapy for rotator cuff pain

Blood Flow Restriction Therapy for Rotator Cuff Pain

April 4, 2022 Tags: , , ,

Chronic rotator cuff pain leads to the weakening of the 4 muscles and their tendons.  The best exercises for rotator cuff pain promote tendon healing and overall strength.  However, pain during the early phases of rehab can limit your tolerance to the most beneficial exercises.  A solution to this dilemma is starting your rehab with blood flow restriction therapy.

Blood flow restriction (BFR) therapy uses a specialized cuff applied around your injured limb.  The cuff restricts blood flow through compression. When combined with low-intensity exercise BFR leads to the same beneficial effects as high-intensity exercise.  But it does this using a greatly reduced load.  Therefore we use BFR in the early stages of rehab when other forms of exercise may be too painful.

BFR is Proven to Improve Rotator Cuff Strength

A 2021 study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine investigated the effects of BFR training on the rotator cuff in 32 healthy adults.  Half of the research participants performed low-intensity rotator cuff exercises with BFR.  The other half performed the same exercises without BFR.  Each group performed their exercises 2 times per week for 8 weeks.

After the 8-week study, the BFR group showed greater improvements in muscle size, strength, and endurance.  The researchers believe the BFR methods used in this study lead to superior muscle activation of the rotator cuff.  This makes BFR ideal for both rehabilitation and injury prevention programs.

How to Get Started with BFR

Traditional BFR training methods utilize a compression cuff placed proximally (or closer to the center of your body) in relation to the exercising body part.  An example would place the cuff over your biceps muscle while you do curls at your elbow.  However, placing the cuff proximally is not possible when training your rotator cuff.

Instead, BFR for your rotator cuff applies compression distal to the exercising body part.  In this case, the compression cuff is placed over your upper arm while you perform exercise movements from your shoulder.  Examples are using BFR with shoulder lateral raises, side-lying external rotation, or push-ups.

BFR utilizes low-intensity high-volume protocols.  Your physical therapist determines the ideal starting load for each exercise. This is usually around only 20% of your maximum strength.  Four sets of 30, 15, 15, and 15 repetitions are used for each exercise.  The last few sets of 15 should be very tiring on your shoulder muscles. You will, “feel the burn.”  However, because the load is so low, you will not experience any harmful pain.

See Your Physical Therapist for Rotator Cuff Pain

Your physical therapist will perform a detailed examination to determine if BFR is right for you. Special testing is performed to determine the safest and most appropriate parameters, to begin with. Most people can safely use BFR and achieve excellent results in as little as a few weeks.

The physical therapists at BSR have been helping the people of Southern Ocean County move without pain since 2007.  Call BSR to make an appointment with your physical therapist.