Enhancing POTS Management with Blood Flow Restriction Training Featuring Rob West
Zebra Talks: Living Your Best Bendy LifeShow Notes
In this episode of Zebra Talks, host Dr. Libby Hinsley speaks with Rob West, a physical therapist and board certified orthopedic specialist. They discuss the use of blood flow restriction (BFR) training as a tool for improving strength and managing symptoms in patients with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
Rob shares his journey from learning about EDS through a classmate to becoming a specialist in treating this population. He provides insights into how BFR works, its benefits, and necessary precautions. Rob also highlights the positive impact BFR and trunk compression with weightlifting belts can have on cerebral perfusion and symptom management for POTS patients. Additionally, he shares inspiring case studies of patients who have significantly improved their quality of life through these training methods. Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of these innovative approaches to physical therapy and their practical applications.
Highlights of this episode include:
00:00 Introduction to Zebra Talks 00:35 Meet Rob West: Physical Therapist and Strength Specialist 02:58 Understanding Blood Flow Restriction Training 05:37 Applying BFR in Clinical Practice 08:29 BFR for POTS Management 27:22 Patient Success Stories with BFR 31:15 Closing Thoughts and Contact Information
More from Zebra Talks: Living Your Best Bendy Life
Host Dr. Libby Hinsley welcomes Jennifer Parkinson, a certified functional nutrition practitioner and founder of EDS Nutritionist, who supports people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, MCAS, and POTS.
Host Dr. Libby Hinsley welcomes physical therapist Dr. Laura Glazebrook to discuss scoliosis, especially its overlap with hypermobility. Laura shares her own history of rapidly progressing scoliosis, undergoing a spinal fusion at age 11, and later realizing she likely falls on the hypermobility spectrum.
Dr. Libby Hinsley welcomes menopause specialist and nurse practitioner Vanessa Weiland, founder of Phases Clinic and creator of Bendy Menopause, who also has hypermobile EDS and MCAS.
Host Dr. Libby Hinsley interviews Abbey Phillipson, a classical Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) advocate and Paralympic strength and conditioning coach at the University of Michigan. Abbey shares her experience with early signs, diagnosis via genetics (COL5A1), and serious complications of Classical EDS.
Host Dr. Libby Hinsley interviews pelvic floor physical therapist and author Dr. Amy Stein, founder of Beyond Basics Physical Therapy. Stein discusses the strong overlap she sees between hypermobility and pelvic floor dysfunction (estimating about 70% of her patients), including patterns of pelvic floor gripping used for stability, pelvic pain, prolapse, hernias, constipation/IBS symptoms, possible pelvic congestion, and bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction across all genders.