When I first encountered KAATSU, I thought it was pretty obvious that any circulatory improvements would happen while wearing the KAATSU AirBands. As soon as I took them off, everything would go back to normal. That’s what I thought, and I was wrong.
Introducing: Hyperemia
Hyperemia refers to a higher than normal blood flow to tissues or organs in the body. If you’ve worked out, you have experienced exercise hyperemia, as your body needs to increase blood flow to meet the demands of increased muscular activity. Fun fact: the flow of blood to the skeletal muscle can increase to over 100 times the resting value in response to exercise (source). This is one reason why exercise is so good for you, as it can significantly boost your circulation. This is also referred to as “exercise” or “active” hyperemia.
There is also a “reactive” hyperemia, which is a blood flow increase in response to a temporary limitation of circulation. Because KAATSU provides a temporary (30-second) decrease in the flow of blood out of the limb, this mild disturbance to the normal circulation stimulates the body to respond with an increase in circulation. The KAATSU Cycle provides multiple, short modifications of the venous blood flow back to the heart from the limb. The body responds to this by increasing circulation, and this can last for several hours after KAATSU AirBands are removed.
It is the KAATSU Cycle that provides this particular benefit. KAATSU Cycle mode compresses and decompresses, stimulating the production of multiple reactive hyperemia. According to German sports scientist and KAATSU Specialist Robert Heiduk: “From this perspective it becomes clear that the KAATSU Cycle can be described as vascular training”.
So, am I suggesting that KAATSU can “replace” exercise? Personally, I don’t believe it should. However, there are many people who are either unable to exercise or for whom exercise is inconvenient. KAATSU represents an option to help improve blood flow and enhance overall health and well being.
This was the 2nd of a series of articles on how KAATSU can affect the cardiovascular system. I hope you found this information useful. Thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: KAATSU protocols have not been evaluated by Health Canada. KAATSU is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease and its use should be evaluated by your own physician before use.