Johnny Owens is a Physical Therapist who currently serves as the Director of Education at Owens Recovery Science. Previously, Johnny spent 10 years as the Chief of Human Performance Optimization at the Center for the Intrepid (See Video Below). Here he treated service members, including Ryan Miller from Episode 79, who suffered severe musculoskeletal trauma. I heard Johnny speak at the AMSSM conference this past May in San Diego and was amazed by the incredible knowledge he was sharing on Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) and the implications it has for athletes recovering from injury. Johnny has been published extensively for his work with BFR in the peer reviewed literature and his work has been featured on 60 Minutes, Time Magazine, NPR, Discovery Channel and ESPN. I have no doubt many of the athletes who listen to this episode can benefit one way or another by adding BFR to their rehab protocol or training regimen.
As many of you know, I have been rehabbing from an Osteochonral Autograft Transfer (OATs) surgery I elected to have back in January of 2016. I have been struggling with moderate to severe kneecap pain and atrophy since 6 months out from surgery. The pain has diminished greatly since working with Dr. Danielle Clarke over at Parabolic Performance and Rehab in Little Falls, NJ. However, when I heard Johnny talk about BFR at the AMSSM conference I first thought, I need to get this guy on the podcast and then thought, this could be a potential solution to my lingering knee pain! Johnny told me he thought I would be a good candidate for BFR training.
For athletes like me who can't build muscle through lifting heavy loads because it is painful, the anaerobic properties of BFR training have been found to stimulate a similar biological response in the muscle with much lighter weights. In the above picture, I am performing a step-up with a slow eccentric descent. Trust me, you have never felt muscle fatigue until you have tried BFR. It's a deep burn (Insert Ron Burgundy voice). The single leg squat on the Total Gym is by far the most difficult and uncomfortable, but after having limited use of my quad for over a year, it's also glorious. Since recording this episode with Johnny I have been doing BFR on my leg for the past 3 weeks at Edge Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine. Considering the large number of physical therapy practices in my area, most of them do not have Owens Recovery System certified PT's. You can find a list of certified providers in your area on Johnny's website.
Since working with Lawrence and Johanns at Edge, I can definitely feel a big difference in the strength of my left leg. Normally when I go out for a ride on my road bike or do some intervals on an Assault Bike, my non-surgically repaired right leg feels like it is doing all the work. However, I feel much more symmetrical in the last couple rides and workouts I have done. I am excited to see the progress in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for some videos on social media of my BFR training.
Below you will find notes on my interview with the BFR legend himself, Johnny Owens:
