I finally received my $45 Blood Flow Restriction Cuffs that I ordered from Alibaba . In the past I have used BFR cuffs extensively in the clinic to treat patients following ACL injuries as well as a way to modulate loads. The Blood flow restriction cuffs I have used have been from Smart cuffs and Be Strong. There continues to be strong research for Blood Flow Restriction, but one of the limiting factors to get BFR implemented in more clinics is the cost of BFR Cuffs. Typical BFR Cuffs cost around ~$400. A few months ago, I was searching on Alibaba and found BFR cuffs for $45. So I knew I needed to try them out.
Quality of Product
I was extremely surprised by the quality of the BFR cuffs and and packaging that it came in. It had a nice hard cover carrying case that has plenty of room to fit 2 arm cuffs, 2 leg cuffs and a pump. The quality of the cuffs were good(atleast at initial use…. I will be tracking how well they will hold up over time).
Shipment Time
This is always the kicker when ordering from websites like Alibaba and Dhgate. This is especially true in the time of Covid. Sadly, when I ordered these, China was going through one of their major lockdowns and many of the ports were delayed. With this is took about 1.5 months to receive the BFR cuffs. Although this was not ideal, I would still say it was worth the incredible cost of these cuffs.
What I plan to use these for?
In the long term I plan to start my own small cash based clinic, and these will an extremely valuable tool. On a more personal level, over the next few months I am going to have a lot of transition in my life. I will be moving to a new city, new apartment and will not have consistant access to my traditional gym with heavy weights. In the meantime I will have to settle for the adjustable dumbbell and lighter weights that I currently own. The BFR cuffs will help create a stimulus that will not only allow me to maintain my muscle mass with this decrease in ability to overload, but also may let me continue make gains. I will also be experimenting with new protocols with the BFR.
What excites me about the idea of BFR being so affordable?
I was discussing this with a mentor of mine who is currently in the process of starting his own cash based practice. What I was discussing was currently BFR sets are way to expensive to be able to loan out to patients during their rehab. However, if they were affordable, we may be able to loan them out especially in early stage rehab of injuries like ACL. Not only would it improve patient outcomes due to being able to generate this positive more often, but also it would be able to significantly decrease health care cost and allow our patients to save their visits for later in the rehab process. I would love to hear your thoughts, but this is something that I think could be incredibly exciting. *** I understand prior to prescribing BFR especially at home without supervision by clinician, a tremendous amount of patient education and screening would be needed.***
Compass Performance 