Could new natural treatment be the answer for protecting bone-on-bone knees?

Does strength training, running, or even walking irritate your knees?

Have you been told you’re bone-on-bone and that you’ll likely need a knee replacement in the coming years?

Are you trying to find a natural way to avoid getting a knee replacement? 

If you’ve never heard of BFR or how it can protect your knee, even if it is bone on bone, then this article is for you. 

Typically when somebody tries to strength train to treat knee pain, arthritis, or to try to prevent a knee replacement, they have to start with very light and easy exercises. Unfortunately, once the weight gets increased, this often triggers a flare leading to days or weeks off from strength training. During this time, the muscle gained often atrophies while the joint stiffens. For many, the amount of weight they can lift without flaring their symptoms seems to get less and less.  They often feel like they can’t get ahead because their knee keeps flaring and they go through this cycle over and over. 

But, A recent study comparing Low Load Resistance Training +BFR showed: 

✅ Significantly reduced pain versus the  Low Load Resistance Training group

✅ Pain relief was sustained for at least 45 minutes after strength training ended.

✅ In the BFR group, there were no non-responders(meaning that everybody who did low load resistance training with BFR had reduced knee pain). 

What does BFR stand for and how does it help with knee pain, arthritis, and bone-on-bone knees? 

BFR stands for Blood Flow Restriction training. Now, the name itself sounds pretty scary but it has a 50+ year history of being used to strengthen and grow muscle at much lighter loads than are usually needed with traditional strength training. 

Originally called Kaatsu training, it originally started with straps that weight-lifters would tighten around their arms or thighs to restrict blood flow and basically get to that burn that people who exercise feel when they push hard.  

With these bands in place, they were able to get muscle strength and growth at much  lower weights. What they wouldn’t know is just how tight is too tight. 

Over the last 20 years, researchers have intensively studied not only how to make BFR safe but exactly how to use it to get the joint protective strength gains while using as little weight as possible so as to not flare joints, tendonitis, or bursitis. 

In order for BFR to be safe, we both need to use medical grade equipment(which we do at Body Mechanix) and we also need to personalize just how much pressure and find the exact right pressure for you to work at(more on BFR safety in a bit). 

How does it work? 

In order to grow muscle, you need to get that muscle to fatigue, normally with heavy weight. The “burn” you get in the muscle is a chemical called Lactate(some people call it lactic acid). That chemical then triggers other chemicals in your body like growth hormone(HGH) and IGF to start to strengthen and grow the muscle. With BFR, because we’re limiting the muscles ability to get rid of lactate, so this chemical builds and builds. When lactate or the burn builds, it fools your muscles into thinking that they have worked out really hard with really heavy weights.  Because of this, your body starts to lay down more muscle protein to strengthen the muscle, increase power and size(hypertrophy).  And, we’re doing it with light loads which is ideal for people whose joints are inflamed and achy. 

Now for the cool part. Normally, in order to grow muscle, you need to lift at 65-80% of your 1 Rep Max(or how much you can pick up 1 time). Now, if you suffer from joint pain or even just everyday aches and pains this would only flare your injury. With BFR, we can now work at 20-35% of that 1 rep max which greatly reduces stress to your joints or strained muscles. Now, exercises that were not normally challenging before your injury feel like a high intensity workout. For example, if you can maximally pick up 100 pounds, you would typically have to lift 65-80 pounds for 3-5 sets of at least 8-12 reps in order to grow muscle. With our BFR protocol, we can do that same growth with 20-35 pounds and can typically do a complete workout in under 30 minutes fully fatiguing the muscle and stimulating muscle growth. 

The next big question is usually about safety? 

At Body Mechanix, our therapists are specifically trained in BFR safety and use clinical guidelines to determine if using BFR is safe or not for you. Our therapists take a very thorough health history including your current vitals to determine if it is both safe and right for you. Generally speaking, if you have a history of blood clots, have super high blood pressure, or have heart rhythm issues, we generally will not use BFR. Next, we personalize your therapy using a cardiac ultrasound to determine the exact right pressure for the cuffs. 

What if I can’t put weight through a joint

Are you non-weight bearing or partial-weight bearing after your surgery or are in an immobilizer. BFR can help and is used successfully both before andsurgery to stop muscle loss and stimulate muscle growth. This way, the more muscle you have when you are allowed to bear weight the better base you have to start from.

Wanting to learn if BFR is right for you? Confused about where to start?  Schedule your free BFR consult and see if it is right for you.  Need help now? Come by and talk with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy at no charge. We offer FREE consultations, which give you the opportunity to come in and meet us and see for yourself how we can help you.

Here are just a few of the things you will learn in one of our free consultation:

• Is BFR therapy right for you?

• Roughly, how long will it take to fix the problem?

• What to do to help – which doesn’t include painkillers, resting or surgery etc.

• What other, natural, drug free methods are there to speed up recovery alongside treatment?

Our consultations are great for anyone that may be “unsure” if physio is right for them, and they give you the opportunity to ask questions and see for yourself if we can help you.

If you’d like one of our limited free consultation sessions, please click here to schedule your free consultation or CALL us on 850-765-2779 to make a no-obligation enquiry.

About the Author

Dr. Brandon is the owner and a Physio at Body Mechanix Physiotherapy and Fitness. Four of his favorite people call him daddy while he's been married to his other favorite person for 23 years. He enjoys teaching martial arts and is a Mestrando in Capoeira while in the mornings, he can be found working out with the guys in F3 around town.  He's the author of 4 pain relief guides for sciatica, low back, shoulder, and knees and the lead contributor to the Active Tallahassee Blog.