KAATSU blog posts testimonials, protocols, case studies, techniques and ideas about KAATSU the Original BFR for recovery, rehabilitation, functional mobility and athletic performance. Statements included in this blog have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Dr. Vink is the Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of Microvascular Health Solutions. He is a biomedical researcher and a pioneer in the study of the endothelial glycocalyx who developed the GlycoCheck technology system that allows the clinical assessment of the glycocalyx and has extensive knowledge of the vascular system. He has authored or contributed on more than 75 scholarly papers and reviews.
What is quite amazing is this illustration of Dr. Vinks is how KAATSU inventor Dr. Yoshiaki Sato views the human body - through the vascular system and, in particular, the capillary system.
You can see the difference in skin color of the two arms of a 56-year-old KAATSU female aesthetician. On one arm, the woman did consecutive KAATSU Cycle sets - on her other arm, she did not use KAATSU at all. The non-KAATSU arm shows her natural skin color. In contrast, the gentle KAATSU Cycle sets leads to the safe and effective engorgement of blood in her 10 billion microscopic capillaries. This engorgement of the vascular system creates the beefy red color of her skin - and is the catalyst for a number of healthful biochemical reactions in her body.
As an aesthetician, she uses her hands and forearms daily - hour after hour - and this caused tendinitis developed over the three decades of her career. She tried every treatment possible and physicians and therapists told me that the only way to address the tendinitis was to reduce or stop her line of work. She wanted to find another alternative - and she did three years ago. Her repeated KAATSU Cycle sets, performed daily, led to the complete elimination of tendinitis in her arms - and a continuation of her career that she enjoys very much.
The reason why KAATSU Cycle sets are so invaluable as a recovery modality is because this microcapillary system is engorged with blood, then released with lower pressure so frequently - with the user is relaxing. With so much metabolic waste built up in the vascular system after an intense workout or competition, the compression and decompression of the microcapillary system is highly effective in disappating the waste.
The mother of four who nearly made the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in platform diving at the age of 43 explains, "This started as a little PDF that I am proud to have turned into a full-blown beautiful and impactful journal.
Becoming a confident competitor begins and ends with your mindset. Not your parent's mindset, not your coach's mindset, not your team's mindset, but your mindset. Your attitude, perspective and responses come from you and you alone.
One of the things I'm passionate about is helping athletes learn how to understand and change their own circumstances. Many grow up being told what to do and handed all the tools. And that will get them to a certain point, but if they never learn along the way how to handle their emotions, attitude, perspective and difficult situations, it's nearly impossible to break through to that next level and in fact, could have very negative and long lasting impacts."
How can KAATSU equipment and protocols be used to help athletes prepare for high-altitude sporting events, competitions or feats?
Three primary ways:
(1) Performance: increase the elasticity of their vascular issue
(2) Restoration or Rejuvenation: enhance and accelerate recovery from training and the event itself - whether it is a day of climbing to a summit, a competitive or recreational run at high altitude, or cycling through mountains
(3) Prehabilitation or Rehabilitation: rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries or muscle strains, prevention of shin splits, or various blisters or sores
What are the specific protocols for (1) Performance, (2) Restoration or Rejuvenation, and (3) Prehabilitation or Rehabilitation?
Performance
* Do 3-6 KAATSU Cycle sets during 1-2 sessions per day while at rest (e.g., relaxing after a workout or while sitting at your office working or walking your dog after work).
This is in addition to and meant to augment your physical training and normal workouts, but is not meant to be intense.
* Do 3-6 KAATSU Cycle sets starting at Low Pressure and then progressively to Medium Pressure and subsequently to High Pressure as you practice your sport or particular activity.
* Do KAATSU Constant sets starting at Low Pressure, then progressively to Medium Pressure, and subsequently to High Pressure as you practice your sport or particular activity.
* The top four photos on left show athletes performing different exercises and specific athletic movements at high altitude with their KAATSU Air Bands on.
Restoration or Rejuvenation
* Do 3-6 KAATSU Cycle sets immediately after your physical training and intense workouts while you are sitting down and relaxing post-workout.
* Hydrate well before and during these sets.
* Some athletes prefer starting at Low Pressure, then progressively to Medium Pressure, and subsequently to High Pressure.
Other athletes prefer the opposite progression; that is, they start at High Pressure, then progress to Medium Pressure, and then to Low Pressure.
Meanwhile, other athletes prefer to stay at the same pressure, whether it is Low, Medium, High, or a Customized Pressure.
These customized individual preferences can be experimented and decided upon each athlete.
* The bottom three photos on the left show different types of athletes - from cross-country skiers to ultramarathon runners - sitting down post-workout or post-competition doing KAATSU Recovery Cycle sets.
Prehabilitation or Rehabilitation
* Similar to athletes who compete at or closer to sea level, the typical KAATSU prehab or rehabilitation protocols should be used by athletes who perform at high altitude.
* However, in general, the pressures used in the KAATSU Air Bands at high altitude are somewhat or significantly lower than at sea level. This will depend on the athlete and their level of fitness and experience with KAATSU - or any type of BFR (Blood Flow Restriction).
That is, the more fit and the more experience with KAATSU an athlete is, the greater the pressure can be. Similarly, the more intense and longer the KAATSU sessions can be for fitter, more experienced athletes.
Conversely, the less fit and the less experienced with KAATSU an athlete is, the lower the pressure should be. Similarly, the less intense and shorter the KAATSU sessions should be for less fit, less experienced athletes.
In particular, horizontal exercises - like push-ups or swimming freestyle in a pool - should use significantly lower pressure at high altitude compared to at sea level.
Athletes should also and always be well hydrated while doing KAATSU, either at sea level, but especially at high altitudes.
For those athletes will blisters or sores on their hands or feet can do KAATSU Cycle sets before and after their workouts.
There are other tips and hints that experienced KAATSU Master Specialists know from decades of experience and observations garnered from long-time Japanese KAATSU Specialists that were used since the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games:
* If the blisters or sores are only one one side of the body, then the athlete should put the KAATSU Air Bands on the injured side only - and proceed with the progressive KAATSU Cycle sets on that side.
* If the athletes are competing in a multi-day extreme sporting event (e.g., a long-distance ride, a multi-day run or multi-stage swim or triathlon, a mountain summit, or kayaking across a high-altitude lake), then doing a nighttime session of KAATSU Cycle sets is critically important. This session should be performed within an hour of going to bed, and will help improve sleep quality.
* After a bout of exercise, an intense workout, or competition is completed at high altitude, the sooner Progressive KAATSU Cycle sets are started, the better.
* Rehdyration after a workout or competition should be done gradually; that is, take repeated small sips of water or replacement fluids in order to help augment the benefits of Progressive KAATSU Cycle sets.
Joe Lowrey, U.S. Army Green Beret Sergeant 1st Class and Purple Heart Recipient, does KAATSU Cycle sets every morning and evening. Before his physical therapy appointment at the Long Beach Veterans Administration Hospital, he explains his physical improvements over time - that has enabled him to finally obtain his California driver's license.
Lowrey was an ice hockey goalie who graduated from Long Beach Wilson High School in Southern California. An extraordinarily fit and driven individual, Lowrey enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantryman during his senior year in high school as his immediate response to the 9-11 attacks.
Lowrey attended basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and spent 6 years serving in various locations until he became a Staff Sergeant and qualified for the Special Forces assessment and selection process. He completed Basic Airborne Training at Fort Benning and Special Forces training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he earned his green beret and was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group.
Lowrey was deployed twice to Colombia and Afghanistan where he was wounded by a PKM machine gun round during an intense firefight against Taliban insurgents on July 7th 2014. A bullet pierced his Kevlar helmet, entered his skull and exited his brain on the other side. His fellow Green Berets rescued him from the firefight and were told that Joe would not live long as part of his brain was removed.
Lowrey remained in a coma for a month and then began his recovery initially at Walter Reed Hospital, and then at the Palo Alto Polytrauma Rehabilitation Unit, California Casa Colina, and Centre For Neuro Skills in California. Ultimately, he was medically retired from active duty, but his injuries left him without movement on the left side of his body and limited movement on his right side.
This Purple Heart recipient and retired U.S. Army Green Beret Sergeant 1st Class lives in Ontario, California. Lowrey use the KAATSU C3 model to improve his blood circulation and improve muscle tone. Lowrey religiously does two KAATSU sessions per day, every day: a KAATSU Walking session in the morning and a KAATSU Nighttime Protocol in the evening before bed.
The KAATSU C3 is the third generation KAATSU Cycle device.
Invented in Japan, with products engineered and designed in Southern California, KAATSU Global is the pioneer and remains the gold standard in the emerging BFR market. The carefully controlled, easy-to-use pneumatic KAATSU bands automatically and safely optimizes blood circulation for muscle tone, strength, mobility, rehabilitation, and recovery.
KAATSU devices (KAATSU Master 2.0, KAATSU Cycle 2.0, KAATSU C3, KAATSU B1, KAATSU M3) included a handheld automated compressor and universal pneumatic, stretchable bands which are placed around the arms or legs. Arm bands and leg bands are used separately during each session.
The KAATSU Air Bands inflate and deflate in a patented sequence based on algorithms that are optimal for each user, no matter their age or physical abilities. KAATSU protocols are convenient, easy-to-do, and time-effective. KAATSU equipment offer unparalleled performance, precision, and safety for users of all ages, fitness levels, and walks of life - and can be used anywhere anytime to help you...Recover Faster, Rehab Stronger and Perform Better.
For more information, visit the www.kaatsu.com website to learn more about BFR, Blood Flow Restriction, BFR exercise, BFR science, and KAATSU protocols and how KAATSU differs from B Strong, Delfi Portable Tourniquet System for Blood Flow Restriction, Smart Cuffs, and other BFR brands and low-cost occlusion bands.
The primary differences between KAATSU and the other BFR bands are:
(1) KAATSU utilizes the patented Cycle function
(2) different pressures can be simultaneously used on different limbs
(3) KAATSU equipment and protocols were proven safe and effective after a decade of clinical use and research on over 7,000 cardiac rehab patients at the University of Tokyo Hospital (2004 - 2014)
(4) KAATSU is used by cardiologists, orthopedic surgeons, podiatrists, and physicians in various specialties
(5) KAATSU Air Bands do not occlude arterial flow
(6) KAATSU is meant to be gentle and convenient in order to do anywhere anytime
(7) KAATSU is sold worldwide to people up to the age of 104
(8) more research has been conducted in more countries on KAATSU than any other BFR device
(9) the seminal, groundbreaking research on BFR was conducted and published by KAATSU inventor Dr. Yoshiaki Sato in the 1990's
(10) KAATSU Air Bands are waterproof and the KAATSU C3 is ruggedized for military applications
You can also learn more about KAATSU the Original BFR below:
Matthew Whitmore, a long-time English teacher and swim coach at Edison High School, talks how he used KAATSU equipment both in the water and on dryland with a VASA SwimErg to help his teenage swimmers overcome injuries and swim faster.
For more information on the VASA SwimErg, visit here. https://vasatrainer.com/.
Whether swimmers or water polo players are high school students, college students, post-graduate athletes, or older adults, the combination of KAATSU Air Bands and the VASA SwimErg are outstanding.
Paralympic alpine skiing teammates Danelle Umstead and Tyler Carter were selected as the U.S. flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Umstead, a four-time Paralympian, and Carter, a three-time Paralympian, were selected by a majority vote from fellow Team USA athletes to lead the 67-member delegation.
Umstead will be joined by husband Rob who also acts as her guide.
The Opening Ceremony of the the Paralympic Winter Games will be held March 4th at the National Stadium in Beijing.
Umstead made her Paralympic debut at the Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 where she took home double bronze in the women’s visually impaired class after standout performances in the downhill and super-combined events. Umstead secured her third career medal with a third-place finish at the Paralympic Winter Games Sochi 2014.
The only married couple on the team, Danelle and Rob Umstead have been competitively skiing together since 2008. Umstead is one of three four-time Paralympians on the 2022 U.S. Winter Paralympic Team.
“I was completely surprised,” said Umstead on being selected by her fellow U.S. teammates. “They did a beautiful thing, and they had my husband tell me. Everything I have done, he has been by my side. He is so proud. This is such an honor, and I was completely shocked.”
"Getting to carry the flag alongside Danelle is a huge honor,” Carter continued. “I lived with her for a few months when I was young in my career. She mentored me, and we became best friends. To be able to walk alongside her [and] represent our whole country and the team, I can’t think of anyone better to be sharing that moment with.”
Military veteran and former NBA coach Michael Renteria has joined KAATSU Global as a KAATSU Specialist and Ambassador.
Renteria is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with over a dozen human performance certifications and a decade of successful experience in training athletes across multiple fields. He graduated with his bachelor's from the University of Nebraska in Nutrition-Exercise-Health-Science, and his master's in Exercises Science at the University of South Florida.
He began his career working with collegiate baseball at the University of Nebraska. From supporting Cornhusker athletes, he went to work as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets in the NBA. At the end of the 2014 season, he was invited to Beijing to train and prepare the Chinese Men's Olympic basketball team for the 2016 Olympic games in Rio.
In 2015, Renteria stepped in as the head strength coach for Special Operations Command Central at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. He has been in the reserves for 14 years, as a Security Forces member, and a Tactical Air Control Party specialist in U.S. Air Force Special Warfare.
Renteria is an avid KAATSU user himself and wrote a TSAC Report where he discussed exercise selection, protocol, and considerations of BFR (Blood Flow Restriction) for injury prevention and strength training for tactical (military) populations using KAATSU equipment. The TSAC Report is the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s quarterly publication designed for the training of tactical professionals, operators, and facilitators.
U.S. Marines Major Gamal Awad and his two-time Olympian wife Hawley Bennett use KAATSU regularly.
Major Awad is a tactical athlete who has pushed himself for years to maintain sufficient strength, speed and stamina for his military responsiblities. Hawley competes in elite equestrian events representing her native Canada. They both have used KAATSU to help with their rehabilitation from numerous injuries - from broken pelvis bones to broken backs.
Awad and Bennett are quite confident of the safety of the KAATSU Cycle modality.
Cardiologist Dr. Toshiaki Nakajima, MD, PhD, formerly head of the Department of Ischemic Circulatory Physiology at the 22nd Century Medical Center in The University of Tokyo Hospital, reported on the use and safety of KAATSU. In his published results of a 2017 national survey of KAATSU users in Japan, Dr. Nakajima said, "We examined the use and safety of KAATSU training in a national survey in 2017. An online questionnaire survey was answered by the participants of the annual academic symposium.
We received replies from 232 facilities throughout Japan where KAATSU had been applied to different types of situations. These included health promotion (87% of all facilities), diet (85%), cosmetology and anti-aging (70%), increased muscle strength (71%), muscle hypertrophy (72%), improved sports performance (53%), and others.
KAATSU was also used for rehabilitation (38%); orthopedic disease (38%), obesity (17%), diabetes (12%), cerebrovascular disease (11%), cardiovascular disease (8%), depression (7%), infertility (6%), neuromuscular disease (5%), and immune disorders (3%).
The effectiveness or improvement accounted for 92% of the total number of users without any serious side effects such as rhabdomyolysis, cerebral hemorrhage, stroke or thrombosis.
Our conclusion of this 2016 national survey was that KAATSU under the guidance of an appropriate Kaatsu instructor seems to be able to achieve safe and beneficial effects regardless of the age, gender, disease, etc. of the institutional target. The results were similar to those found in the 2006 national survey."
If you have hands of hard work or gym hands, you are often faced with raw, dry skin often with calluses and blisters. Your hands can get dry, itchy, irritated, painful, and, in some cases, embarrassing or debilitated.
Whether you workout in a gym, rock climb, row, ride, do gymnastics, play musical instruments, or use your hands in your daily work in construction, all your repeated hard work can cause cause pain, discomfort, and inflammation in the skin of your hands as well as strain on its ligaments and tendons.
While your child, partner or other family members appreciate your hard work, they undoubtedly prefer a smoother, softer, more tender touch when you place your calloused and blistered hands on them - out of their love, care and appreciation for you.
KAATSU allows you to achieve both: continue hard work and tender loving care of your hands and skin.
In the same way that KAATSU can immediately help with reducing the red marks of cupping (see here), the reduction of inflammation and pain from getting tattoos (see here), a remarkably fast recovery from surgical incisions (see here), tendinitis (see here), carpal tunnel syndrome (see here), and broken toes (see here), KAATSU can help keep your hands and fingers smoother, softer, more tender no matter what your sport or profession is.
The key is to do KAATSU Cycle sets (on a KAATSU B1, KAATSU C3, KAATSU Cycle 2.0, KAATSU M3, KAATSU Master 2.0, or KAATSU Nano) before and after your workout or work session.
With KAATSU Air Bands on your upper arms in the KAATSU Cycle mode, you can automatically apply progressively, incrementally, and repeatedly higher pressures.
This protocol starts from the point of a very gentle pressure to the point where the tiny capillaries in your fingers, hands and wrists are fully engorged with blood.
This process of pressure on for 30 seconds and then pressure off for 5 seconds - performed automatically with KAATSU equipment - kickstarts curative biochemical reactions in your body.
As the vascular tissue is engorged with blood and then released, there is a cascade of plasmalogens, ceramides, and growth hormone that is naturally produced. These help heal the stress that is placed on your hands and fingers. The process also enables the increased elasticity of the vascular tissue in your hands that augment this healing process.
Photo on left shows a black KAATSU C3 model
Photo above shows the difference in color of the skin and the distension of the veins that indicate the engorgement of blood in the vascular tissue on the right where the KAATSU Air Band is placed on the upper arm
Key Points
o Do KAATSU Cycle sets first on your arms (and then on your legs, if you have time) for optimal systemic results.
o Do between 3-6 KAATSU Cycle sets on your arms for optimal systemic results.
o Ideally, do KAATSU Cycle sets before and after each workout or work time, but if you have less time, do it afterwards for best results. Optimally, do KAATSU Cycle sets before and after, and then once again within an hour of going to bed.
o Start with a low pressure and build up to higher pressures during each KAATSU session.
o Relax, sit down, chill out, or do light stretching or casual walking or isometric exercises during the KAATSU Cycle sets on your arms.
o Ideally, the skin of your fingers and toes should get pinker or redder (a beefy red) as you do the KAATSU Cycle sets. You want the blood engorgement in the veins and capillaries of your hands.
o There is no need to use the KAATSU Constant mode. In fact, the KAATSU Cycle mode is better. You especialy want the flush of waste products after each workout or work session.
Reoovery Protocols
1. Manually tighten your KAATSU Air Bands on your upper arms below your deltoids by your armpits and above your biceps and triceps (shown below).
2. Begin the KAATSU Cycle sets by starting in the LOW pressure setting. Each KAATSU Cycle set will take about 5 minutes. You can keep the pressure at LOW pressure settings if it feels good or increase to MEDIUM or HIGH pressure settings on the subsequent sets, if you wish.
o Note 1: Even if the first KAATSU Cycle set does not feel tight enough, it is perfectly acceptable to start at the LOW pressure.
o Note 2: As a workout finisher, you can do the KAATSU 3-Point Exercises while sitting down (Hand Grips, Biceps Curls, Triceps Extensions), performed slowly and with maximum muscle contraction.
3. Remove the KAATSU Air Bands from your arms and rehydrate. Then apply the KAATSU Air Bands on your legs.
4. Similar to your arms, you can relax, sit down, chill out, or do light stretching or casual walking, or isometric exercises during the KAATSU Cycle sets with the KAATSU Air Bands on your legs.
Therapeutic Protocols
o Do the following exercises slowly and deliberately with the KAATSU Air Bands on your arms.
o If you feel any numbness or pain during or after exercising, stop immediately and contact your therapist or physician.
o As you do the progressive KAATSU Cycle sets, you can see your fingers and hands get pinker or redder. In some cases, the vascular tissue may be so engorged that your hands may even have a purple hue.
Sample Range-of-motion Movements
o You can slowly open and close your hands. Try to widely stretch your fingers as far as possible, performed either deliberately or casually.
o You can gently bend and move your fingers or even tap out text messages your phone or write emails on a laptop.
o You can do any kind of wrist extension and flexion exercises.
o You can do extend your arms out from your body and then slowly and repeatedly twist your arms clockwise and counterclockwise (arm supination and pronation. That is, when your palms or forearms face up, they ar supinated. When your palms or forearms face down, they are pronated).
o You can also do this arm supination and pronation while your arms are down by your side.
Dr. Peter Lansbury, Professor of Neurology, talked on his use of KAATSU in the video above.
Since first trying KAATSU in 2014, Dr. Lansbury has used the KAATSU Master 2.0, KAATSU Nano, KAATSU Cycle 2.0, and KAATSU C3 products. Next month, he will start using the latest model, the KAATSU B1.
Andrew Matejka is a 6'-7" (200.6 cm) junior at Stanford University, a double major in history economics.
Originally from Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, he is one of America's fast middle distance freestylers - and looking to get faster. With a newly minted dual citizenship of the Czech Republic, he is looking forward to possibly competing at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Andrew may have the edge now to realize his dream. He was first introduced to KAATSU in high school by his club coach Chris Morgan at the Gator Swim Club.
Andrew and his brothers - Matthew, Benjamin and Owen - are all hard-working athletes. Matthew rowed at Yale, Ben was a cross country runner at Dartmouth, and Andrew spends his time training and competing for the renowned Stanford University swim team. The Matejka brothers know - and welcome - hard work.
But Andrew has a not-so-secret weapon: he uses KAATSU equipment. Andrew uses for performance enhancement in an innovative way: for recovery. After his intense training sessions on the Stanford campus and between his individual swims at dual meets and invitationals, he puts his pneumatic KAATSU bands on his arms and does KAATSU Cycle sets. A metabolic flush results and he is ready for his next workout or race.
KAATSU not only makes Andrew feel more recovered than a normal "swim-down", but KAATSU also helps him feel mentally prepared for his next bout of intensity. The first time he used KAATSU at Stanford, he set his personal mid-season best times.
The KAATSU recovery of 30 seconds of pressure followed by 5 seconds of release - performed automatically, repeatedly, and progressively but in incrementally higher pressures - is the same protocol that hundreds of Olympic medalists in a wide variety of sports - from wrestling to track, from ski jumping to swimming - have followed since the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.
What Andrew finds is most useful is that his KAATSU device is portable. Its compact so this enables convenience: he can take it with him around campus, in the team bus, in airports, and in his school apartment in addition to using it at the pool and training gym.
Andrew says, "With so many hours spent per week in the pool, weight room and classroom while pursuing my studies at Stanford, I used to feel like I didn't always have time to adequately recover. KAATSU has helped solve that problem. KAATSU allows me to spend time recovering from my grueling workouts from the comfort of my dorm room or even while studying in the library. I couldn't be more excited to partner with KAATSU as I pursue the highest levels in competitive swimming."
Andrew cuts an imposing figure wherever he goes while his ubiquitous KAATSU Air Bands helps stand him apart even further.
Matejka started his use of KAATSU under the director of Chris Morgan, an Olympic coach and the Head Coach of Gator's Swim Club in Massachusetts where Matejka trained in high school.
Morgan recalled, "We work on speed, strength and stamina every workout at the Gator's Swim Club. Back in 2016, our swimmers began KAATSU Aqua, an innovation to our entire training regime that has resulted in unprecedented drops in time."
Over a 3-month period, some of the swimmers' improvements included:
Henry Gaissert (17 years old)
• 100 freestyle: from 47.0 to 44.8 (44.1 relay split)
• 100 butterfly: from 52.4 to 49.8 Maddie Wallis (16 years old)
• 100 backstroke: from 57.1 to 54.9
• 200 backstroke: from 2:07.9 to 2:00.3 Johnny Prindle (17 years old)
• 100 freestyle: from 48.1 to a 45.9 relay split
• 200 freestyle: from 1:47.2 to 1:41.5
• 100 breaststroke: from 59.0 to 57.5
Morgan continued, "What is our secret?
In a word, KAATSU. KAATSU is what we use to gain specific strength in order to improve speed and increase stamina in the water.
We use very specific and customized pressures with carefully engineered pneumatic bands used in short durations. These pressures are specific for each athlete that can vary from day to day and workout to workout. Those specific pressures, that vary from athlete to athlete, are how our athletes have maximized the benefits of KAATSU.
I learned how we could replicate 'race pain' without the need for traditional time-consuming sets in the pool by using the KAATSU bands. By engorging the vascular tissue in the muscles in blood. In addition and equally as important, Andrew and his Gator teammates used KAATSU for recovery, too.
We use KAATSU to quickly recover sore shoulders and to overcome overuse injuries without ice or any kind of medical procedures. We use the KAATSU Cycle modality that starts off with lower pressures and gradually builds up to higher pressures. These protocols are the same protocols that are used by Olympic gold medalists and members of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympians and 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympic athlete. Andrew learned long before he got to Stanford how to use the KAATSU Cycle modality between his races and between his preliminary heats and final races during a multi-day event to help him.
For 'race pain' training with the KAATSU bands, our sets can range from 10 x 15m breakouts to 10 x 50 at a specific pressure."
So Andrew has a lot of experience - in training and in competition - that he can share with others.".
Dr. Yoshiaki Sato invented KAATSU in 1966, but it took him decades of further discovery and fine-tuning both the usage protocols and equipment before he met Professor Naokata Ishii of the University of Tokyo, a renowned Japanese exercise physiologist.
Their work ultimately led to the first seminal paper on KAATSU called "Effects of resistance exercise combined with moderate vascular occlusion on muscular function in humans", published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 2000.
The paper concluded, "Owning to its small mechanical stress and large effect in inducing muscular hypertrophy, the deliberate combinatino of low-intensity resistance exercise and moderate vascular occlusion is potentially useful for accelerating the recovery of muscular strength in patients and aged people."
The paper explained, "Among aged populations, weakening of muscles in the lower extremity gives rise to serious problems such as inability to stand up and lethal injuries associated with a fall. Postmenopausal older women are subjected to an additional risk of osteoporosis."
Based on the practical applications of KAATSU over the last two decades and this basic information explained by Dr. Ishii and Dr. Sato in the 1990's, the use of KAATSU can significantly grown among Baby Boomers since.
For more information on Professor Ishii, see here.
A 48-year-old woman and KAATSU user did cupping with an acupuncturist. The photo on the left shows the back of her shoulder after cupping. The 2 days after her cupping session, she did 4 KAATSU Cycle sets per day.
The photo below shows the same location 4 days later. Her doctor was pleasantly surprised, "It usually takes about two weeks for the round red spots disappear. But in her case with KAATSU Cycle sets, her spots disappeared in a few days with only two KAATSU Cycle sessions."
Can KAATSU help a much faster removal of the round red cupping marks? Yes.
Can KAATSU replace cupping? Yes.
The Greatest Olympian of All Time, Michael Phelps, attracted a lot of attention to the ancient Chinese art of cupping during his gold-medal run at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Along with other American Olympians like 12-time medalist Natalie Coughlin and actresses like Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Simpson, were also seen with several visible red round marks on their body.
Cupping has long been used for recovery and to relieve pain. It is also used to treat pain, shingles, acne and breathing difficulties.
Practitioners of cupping use small glass cups that are placed over the skin and then a vacuum is induced inside a cup. The suction pulls the skin up into the cup that breaks the capillaries and causes the blood to pool and stagnate. This creates a bruise and leaves circular spots on the skin.
Cupping is commonly used among athletes because they want to stimulate blood flow in order to help muscles heal more effectively and quickly.
But physicians and physiologists know that bruises happen when a physical trauma causes blood to leak into surrounding tissues.
While improved blood flow or not may not matter to Olympic athletes if the placebo effects of cupping provide them with a psychological advantage. This positive mindset may be enough to provide a 0.04 second boost – or the difference between Michael Phelps’ gold medal performance in the 200m butterfly and the time of the silver medalist.
But there is an alternative to cupping, a scientifically proven, effective, and safe way to improve blood flow and enhance recovery from strenuous exercise, either in competition or in training: KAATSU.
KAATSU, or generically described a blood flow optimization exercise, was invented in Japan in 1966 by Dr. Yoshiaki Sato. After three decades of meticulous testing with people ranging from 4 to 104 years and years of research, athletes in 70 countries have discovered what has been describe in 100+ peer-review published papers.
KAATSU is now used by athletes and teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball as well as Olympic swimmers, runners, triathletes, judoka, rowers, wrestlers, basketball players and rugby players from the United States, Japan, Brazil and China, as well as countries ranging from Hungary to Tunisia.
It is also used by NASA, American colleges from West Point to the University of Missouri, and in hospitals and clinics from the University of Tokyo Hospital to the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paolo.
KAATSU equipment consists of a portable handheld unit that carefully monitors the external compression of pneumatic bands placed on the upper arms and upper legs.
These pneumatic KAATSU bands serve to safely, briefly, gently, progressively and repeated reduce the venous flow in the limbs, thus leading to an effective pooling of blood in the arms and legs. Through stretching or any form of movement – either strenuous exercise or physical therapy – with the KAATSU Air Bands on, the pooling of blood helps expand the veins and capillaries. Additionally, the KAATSU Cycle function effectively flushes out lactate in the muscles.
After 5-10 minutes of KAATSU Cycle sets, athletes feel rejuvenated because the lactic acid is not only effectively removed from the muscles, but also the expansion of the vascular walls leads to an increased elasticity of the veins and capillaries.
There is also a concurrent release of growth hormones and nitric oxide caused by this blood pooling that aids recovery. This biochemical reaction is a natural effect of blood pooling that has positive systemic effects on the body. The hormones are transported throughout the body via the vascular system. When these hormones reach muscle cells that are under stress, cell receptors in these cells interact as the body is designed to do.
Therefore, KAATSU is a scientifically proven modality that has natural systemic effects on the body. These are not only more healthful and effective than localized cupping, but it also leads to a natural hormonal release and improved elasticity of the vascular system.
KAATSU versus Cupping, Advantages versus Disadvantages:
*Cupping breaks the capillaries in a localized area. KAATSU improves the elasticity of the capillaries.
*Cupping creates bruising in a localized area. KAATSU leads to a natural hormonal response.
*Cupping leads to visible red spots on the body. KAATSU leaves no visible marks on the body.
*Cupping requires an experienced practitioner. KAATSU can be done anywhere anytime by anyone who follows the standardized KAATSU protocols.
*Cupping feels very good to many people after a session. KAATSU makes the body feel recovered and very good after a session.
Of course, if you want to cup, but do not like the round red spots to be visible, do KAATSU Cycle sets. KAATSU can quickly help heal the damaged capillaries caused by cupping.
Dave Carlson broke his two smallest toes this week. It was the second time that he had broken his small toes - and it hurt. "The last time, I was walking in pain for over a week. I went to the doctor, but he said the body will recover."
So he did repeated KAATSU Cycle sets - both single-leg and dual-leg sets. "By the second day, I was no limping. I had almost no pain if I don't touch the toes. Of course, if I do touch my toes, I feel pain. When I started to do the KAATSU Cycle sets, I noticed that the bruising started to spread, but I felt less pain. By Day Four, I had no pain. I could not believe how fast it healed with KAATSU. I'm stoked. When I tell people what happened the last few days, they find it hard to believe. I take fast recovery for granted now with KAATSU."
During his first two seasons, Ellis has interviewed the venerable Who’s Who of the global open water swimming community: the best of the best, the most hardened and the most extreme athletes who venture beyond the shoreline.
His latest guest is former Navy SEAL captain John Doolittle. Ellis says, "John swam the English Channel in memory of his friend Neil Roberts who was the first SEAL killed in combat after 9/11. John continues to raise money for fallen and injured servicemen and their families through open water swimming (Tampa Bay Frogman Swim).
We chat about all sorts on this one including shallow water blackouts, hammerhead shark breeding grounds and boxing eagle rays in the ocean, [from] a man who has been around the world many times over as an American special forces operative who has seen it and done it [shown on left entering the Gulf of Mexico)."
To listen to the 1 hour 8 minute podcast with John Doolittle and William Ellis where they touch upon KAATSU among many other far-reaching subjects and questions, visit here.
While some competitors in the BFR market claim that BFR (Blood Flow Restriction) training started in the 1930's, it is interesting to read the original United State patent on KAATSU bands and KAATSU training.
KAATSU inventor Dr. Yoshiaki Sato (see brief summary of history here) submitted his original patent filing in November 1993: Tightening tool for muscle training and muscle training method using same. The patent submission was granted by the US Patent & Trademark Office in November 2000 in the United States and other countries.
The original patent (read here) describes "a tightening tool including an elastic body in the form of a belt, rope, tube, etc. for forming a tightening loop adapted to surround a desired part of muscles and tighten it, and locking means for holding the tightening loop at a desired size. A muscle training method for accelerating enlargement and strengthening of the muscles can be practiced by the tightening tool to temporarily block the flow of blood to the desired part of the muscle."
Dr. Sato's original KAATSU elastic, stretchable bands and the concept of using bands to strengthen muscle were revolutionary then - and remains so even now as the KAATSU technology, equipment and protocols have advanced many iterations after decades of dedicated research by academics, and clinical testing by physiologists, cardiologists, internists, and physical therapists, and practical applications by coaches, athletes, sedentary individuals, cardiac rehab patients, and individuals up to the age of 104 years.
The Pursuit of Gold with Laura Wilkinson is a podcast by Olympic 10m platform diving gold medalist and world champion Laura Wilkinson focusing on in-depth discussions with Olympic and Paralympic athletes, sports professionals, elite coaches, and experts.
During her conversations that cover a wide spectrum of topics , KAATSU user Wilkinson and her guests describe their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual tools that help shape them and generate peak performance.
The links to each of her podcasts to date are posted below:
