Evaluating Strength Gains Using Blood Flow Restriction and Myofascial Release

High intensity strength training leads to increased muscle strength. Research shows that blood flow restriction (BFR) combined with low intensity strength training exercises produce similar results. Flexibility is important for efficient movement. Myofascial release (MFR) uses a gentle sustained pressure to stretch the Myofascial tissue and increase flexibility which promotes efficient movement. The purpose of this study is to assess strength gains of the pectoralis major muscle in the non- dominant upper extremity (UE) after implementing BFR and MFR. For four weeks, 27 subjects participated in a randomized control study where they either completed the BFR protocol on the chest-fly machine (control group) or received MFR for three minutes followed by completing the BFR protocol on the chest-fly machine (experimental group). Pre- and post-intervention measurements were taken to determine strength gains and muscle length changes. A significant difference was noted in non- dominant pectoralis major muscle strength for the control group. A significant difference was noted in pectoralis major muscle length for the control group in pre- and post-training for the non-dominant pectoralis major. A significant difference was noted in one repetition maximum (1 RM) for both the control and experimental groups for the non-dominant pectoralis major. This study conveys the effectiveness of BFR on strengthening the pectoralis major muscle. Potential implications for clinical practice include using BFR to improve pectoralis major muscle strength in populations who have muscle tightness and are unable to exercise at high-intensity levels