My Experience with EDGE Restriction System BFR Bands
I started using EDGE Restriction BFR bands a year ago after a pretty serious shoulder surgery. I’ll give you a run-down of what I did and why.
I’m an older guy living in Tokyo who coaches other older guys with their nutrition and training. I have a history of unlucky injuries (that’s what I like to call them), all of which eventually progressed to the point that I needed 5 surgeries over the past 7 years.
One of those injuries was a torn supraspinatus tendon in my right shoulder from an untreated shoulder separation that I suffered about 20 years ago when I was ground-fighting a big Irishman who outweighed me by about 60 pounds. Yep, I was a dumb 35-year-old.
Fast-forward and I found the old shoulder injury had never healed properly and progressed to the point that I could no longer shoulder press a barbell and I had a pretty limited range of motion. I definitely couldn’t throw a right hook any longer. My pain level varied between “hurts a bit” to “please make it stop.” Basically, I was in constant pain. Turns out my right bicep tendon had degraded because of movement compensation due to my messed up shoulder. That was a fun discovery.
So last May I finally had a rotator cuff repair with biceps tenodesis (reattachment of the biceps tendon).
This meant that I’d have a year before it was fully healed and several months after the surgery when it would be impossible to train with any weight, or very light weight held in one hand.
How was I supposed to maintain leg strength if I couldn’t use a barbell or hold a kettlebell in both hands?
That’s when I figured that BFR bands were the solution to this problem.
Essentially, while my right arm was immobilized (about 3-4 weeks), I did air squats with BFR bands on my legs. This made the air squats significantly harder which made it possible for me to preserve the muscle mass of my legs during the rehab period. Once I was out of the sling and my biceps tendon could tolerate a very light load, I used a BFR band on my right bicep to stress the muscle without over-stressing the biceps tendon repair. The risk of rupturing a repaired biceps tendon is significant for at least six months after the repair.
EDGE Restriction BFR bands made it possible for me to maintain muscle mass until I could begin to use heavier loads again. They were simple to use once you get the hang of them. They’re a great addition to anyone’s toolkit and as a coach who trains older guys who may have old injuries or physical limitations, I can’t recommend them enough. A great piece of equipment to have handy.
Mark Edwards
Minimalist Nutrition + Fitness
Tokyo, Japan
Get your own set to Recover from injury or cross train
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customer service by Dr. E - founder of EDGE Mobility System, certified in BFR
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made in the USA
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available in 1 arm, 1 leg, 1 arm + 1 leg, 2 arm, 2 leg, or 4 cuff set with arms/legs
