A NEW WAY TO
BUILD MUSCLE
Physical therapist Nicole Cleffi, PT, DPT, uses Blood Flow Restriction therapy to help strengthen patients’ muscles faster. Note: This photo was taken before mask and social distancing recommendations were in place.
AN INNOVATIVE THERAPY HELPS PATIENTS GAIN STRENGTH AND STABILITY.
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ame any professional sports team—baseball, basketball, football or hockey—and it’s likely that players who have suffered injuries have benefited from a special strength-training technique. Called Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) therapy, it involves using a tourniquet to partially block blood flow to a person’s arm or leg during weight training. “Research shows that it’s not only safe, but it also helps to strengthen muscles faster,” says Nicole Cleffi, PT, DPT, a physical therapist at RWJ Sports Physical Therapy at Princeton, a facility affiliated with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset.
Healthy Together
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Blocking blood flow to a limb causes the muscles to work in a low-oxygen state. Substances such as lactic acid and other metabolites build up, spurring the body to release growth hormones. This leads to the growth of more muscle fibers and, ultimately, greater strength. At the same time, “BFR therapy triggers the body to form more capillaries, or blood vessels,” says Dr. Cleffi. “This increases the supply of oxygen so muscles can work more efficiently.”
A NOVEL TREATMENT RWJ Sports Physical Therapy has offered BFR since September 2019. It’s especially
beneficial for people who can’t tolerate heavy weight lifting, such as those who are recovering from surgery, have suffered an injury or are deconditioned, says Dr. Cleffi. She typically uses the technique to treat sports-related injuries (anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, rotator cuff and elbow) after patients have had surgery. Recently, Dr. Cleffi began using BFR therapy to treat patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and osteoarthritis. In October 2019, a patient who had weakness in her right leg due to MS sought care from Dr. Cleffi. She was tripping frequently because she couldn’t lift her foot
Summer 2020
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