Fixing Chronic Back Pain and Building Core Strength in Athletes: BFR vs. Heavy Lifting

About this episode

This episode discusses the benefits of Blood Flow Restriction training for athletes suffering from chronic back pain compared to traditional heavy lifting.

Hi everyone, Building on our last episode we continue looking at how BFR can help people with low back pain. Chronic nonspecific low back pain is a massive hurdle for athletes who must maintain high training loads to compete. Traditionally, achieving meaningful strength adaptations requires loads of at least 70% 1RM. However, for an athlete with compromised lumbar stability and inhibited core musculature (like the transversus abdominis and multifidus), this heavy loading can exacerbate muscle imbalances, increase joint stress, and perpetuate a vicious cycle of pain, inhibition, and weakness. In this episode, we unpacked another article that asks a pivotal question: How does low-load Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training compare to heavy-load resistance training for male collegiate athletes actively suffering from chronic back pain? The study compared low-load BFR strength against traditional (non-BFR) strenght training. The program was a 4-week intervention, and highlighted signification reductions in pain (VAS) and functional disability (ODI) in favour of the BFR group. The study also explored the nuanced changes in isokinetic core strength, revealing a fascinating trade-off…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Gaviglio

Topics covered

• chronic back pain
• core strength
• Blood Flow Restriction training
• heavy lifting
• athletic performance

Keywords

• chronic back pain
• Blood Flow Restriction
• core strength
• athletes
• heavy lifting
• training loads
• muscle imbalances

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Blood Flow Restriction (BFR), collegiate athletes

Books & works: The effect of blood flow restriction training on

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