Hytro Partners with Western Force and University of Western Australia to Expand Recovery BFR Research

LONDON, 10 JUNE 2024 – Hytro joins as Official Performance BFR Partner with WA Super Rugby Pacific club, Western Force, for a three-way research partnership project in conjunction with the University of Western Australia (UWA) aimed at optimising travel recovery with BFR.

Through the high demands of travelling multiple hours to and from each game within the Super Rugby Pacific schedule across both Domestic and International travel, players across the league are put under immense constraints when trying to recover effectively. As the highest travelling team in the competition, this is a critical area for performance.

Understanding the benefits of Recovery BFR that Hytro bring to elite sports teams around the world, Western Force and The University of Western Australia will be working with the brand to compare different Recovery BFR protocols during periods of coach and air travel, with the aim to determine the most beneficial BFR protocol for optimal travel recovery and create a gold standard methodology.

The specialised research will take place with groups of players travelling with the team while measuring specific markers including joint pain and muscle soreness allowing Western Force to tweak and amend a specific recovery protocol that works the best for each player for maximising output. This is a part of an overall strategy within the team’s Applied Performance Science Department in partnership with UWA to innovate and lead the way in this area.

Western Force Head of Applied Performance Science, Logan Surridge, shared: “We are excited to work with Hytro to support our recovery and performance goals. The challenge of being the most travelled team in Super Rugby, approximately 40,000km in 2024 alone, puts us in a unique position whereby best practice recovery strategies in and around travel are a fundamental pillar of performance for the Western Force.

“The use of Hytro BFR wearables presents us with a quick and effective recovery tool that we believe can create a competitive edge in performance. With the combination of travel demands and a sport that is unique in its high levels of physical impact, the BFR research opportunities within the Western Force promises to be positive for the high-performance sports industry.”

Olivier Girard PhD, Associate Professor (Human Performance), School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia commented: "The University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Western Force have established research programs, notably dedicated to exploring the effects of Super Rugby travel on physical and cognitive performance in professional rugby players. The endeavours of PhD candidates and UWA students enrolled in the Master of Applied Human Performance Science exemplify this fruitful partnership, aimed at providing solutions for travelling professional rugby players."

"The utilisation of blood flow restriction garments in partnership with Hytro, presents an opportunity to enhance athlete recovery and performance. We are delighted to collaborate with Western Force and Hytro to optimise best practices for improving performance and recovery of the squad within the unique and significant travel demands they encounter within Domestic and International travel for competition."

Dr Warren Bradley, Founder and Head of Elite Performance at Hytro commented, "Strategies to optimise post-competition recovery are crucial, especially with congested match schedules and the need for rapid recuperation before the next game. One of the most significant logistical challenges coaches and athletes face in this regard is travel. Spatial and equipment constraints during flights or on the road hinder teams from effectively recovering their athletes until they return home, resulting in a missed opportunity for vital recovery.

“I am therefore delighted to announce our collaboration with Logan and Simon at Western Force to conduct the first Travel Recovery study using Hytro. This study will demonstrate the versatile and portable benefits of wearable Blood Flow Restriction for recovery and highlight the importance of practical application over more stringent less accessible methods.”

Richard Frost, Chief Marketing Officer at Hytro, added: "Partnering with Western Force is a great opportunity for Hytro to lead the search for important performance research with impressive coaches and practitioners. Being able to call on the expertise of the University of Western Australia also ensures that we can back up our field-based findings with a robust academic framework."

“This collaboration means a lot to us personally because it's our first exploration into Super Rugby, a league we believe is perfectly suited to using Performance BFR.”

As the chosen BFR wearable of over 100 elite teams in the world’s top league across a range of sports, this announcement is a continuation of Hytro’s research to not only work with the best athletes to bring effective BFR solutions that improve recovery and performance, but also extend the industry’s knowledge and application of BFR in the field, combining both in the lab and in the field studies. Hytro’s growing list of research partnerships recently includes BWT Alpine F1, Middlesex Cricket and Rugby LA.

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