Hamstring pulls or strains are one of the most common injuries amongst athletes. They have a reputation for lingering and reoccurring throughout the season.
When a muscle is injured, Myostatin and TGF beta act together to fill in the tear with fibrotic tissue. Unfortunately fibrotic tissue or scar tissue, is not as elastic as muscle and tends to break or rip instead of stretch.
BFR has been proven to produce muscle hypertrophy & protein synthesis at loads far below the traditional 65-85% 1RM without the coinciding muscle breakdown, which makes it a great way to load injured muscle tissue.
Low load BFR exercise takes away oxygen as a fuel source and allows aerobic movement tasks to be carried out by the anaerobic system. Anaerobic muscle activity creates lactate build-up which initiates Growth Hormone release and subsequent collagen synthesis essential for tissue healing.
BFR has been found to down regulate Myostatin, this means that if we use BFR with our muscle injuries we may have a better chance of obtaining true non-fibrotic healing of the muscle tissue.
Above is a progression of low load exercises that have been working for my athletes.
Chris Butler Sports PT 