Blood Flow Restriction Training for Postoperative Lower-Extremity Weakness: A Report of Three Cases

摘要

The goal of postoperative rehabilitation is the recovery of preinjury range of motion, strength, and function while adhering to postoperative restrictions. Clinical practice guidelines recommend the use of protected range of motion and strengthening as safe rehabilitation for postoperative care of meniscal and ligamentous injuries (1). For general strengthening, exercise guidelines recommend the use of 65% to 85% of an individual's single repetition maximum (1RM) during exercise to regain muscular strength and hypertrophy (2). During many postoperative rehabilitation programs, weight lifting in this range may not be tolerated by the patient or may be contraindicated due to concerns for the surgical repair. These postoperative load restrictions limit how quickly a patient is able to begin the strengthening phase of therapy and return to full function. Furthermore, a subset of patients fail to regain full strength after surgery due to persistent muscle inhibition causing functional disability beyond that normally experienced postoperatively (3,4).