A Comprehensive Approach to the Use of Blood Flow Restriction
in ACL Rehab (Recorded Webinar)

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Video Runtime: 114 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 1 Minute

This course is a recording of a previously hosted live webinar event. Polling and question submission features are not available for this recording. Format and structure may differ from those of standard MedBridge courses.

This webinar will assimilate and provide strategies based on the existing literature covering the use of blood flow restriction (BFR) as part of a rehab program following ACLR. The attendee will learn the state of the literature on BFR use in ACL rehab and how BFR can be used to elicit adaptation in skeletal muscle and other relevant tissues that are of importance in rehabilitation following ACLR. You will be guided through an evidence-based use of BFR in each phase of rehab, beginning at injury and progressing through to return to play. In each phase, you will learn physiologic targets for BFR use and how parameters can be manipulated to elicit an optimal response.

Learning Objectives

Determine physiologic targets for the use of blood flow restriction (BFR) after ACL injury in the prehab, acute, and subacute phases of rehab
Apply appropriate BFR parameters based on the phase of rehab
Determine when to progress BFR exercise modes
Analyze the current caseload of ACL rehab patients to determine the need to implement or modify BFR use

Meet your instructor

Johnny Owens

Johnny Owens is CEO and director of clinical research and education for Owens Recovery Science, an Inc. 500 company. He is the former chief of human performance optimization at the Center for the Intrepid at San Antonio Military Medical Center. He completed his undergraduate course work in biology at The University of Texas…

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Chapters & learning objectives

1. BFR Basics

This section will provide a basic introduction to blood flow restriction (BFR) and how it works. Basic parameters for BFR use will be provided.

2. The State of the Literature on ACL Rehab With BFR

This chapter will review the published literature on BFR exercise use in rehab following ACLR. This section will be used to set the stage for the following sections that will detail a phase-by-phase approach to high-quality BFR implementation in an ACLR rehab plan.

3. You’re on the Clock: Immediate Postinjury Intervention

This chapter will detail the cascade of events that occur within skeletal muscle following an ACL tear. It will then address how BFR may be used to combat those changes.

4. Acute to Subacute Phases: The Meat and Potatoes

The use of BFR in these phases has the most support in the literature and is likely the most important for facilitating a successful rehab in a timely manner. Particular care will be taken to emphasize how to determine the effectiveness of an individual visit.

5. Late-Stage Rehab: How to Move on From BFR

The multifactorial nature of a successful ACL rehab warrants the progression away from light loads and intensities to high-load resistance exercise and plyometric-type tasks. Whether or not BFR has a role in the later phases of rehab will be addressed.

6. Question and Answer Session

In this chapter, questions that were submitted during the live webinar event are answered by Johnny Owens.

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