What links Elon Musk, Manchester City and a Chinese crypto tycoon?
What links Elon Musk with Manchester City and one of China’s biggest crypto tycoons? The answer is an English fitness tech company which counts British tennis star Cameron Norrie among its shareholders and, over the next few days, will be boldly going where no man or woman has gone before.
Surrey-based Hytro is the company, and its patented blood flow restriction (BFR) clothing is designed to help athletes train more effectively and recover quicker. It is used by more than 200 professional sports teams across the Premier League, NFL, NBA, NHL and international rugby as well as competitors in Formula 1, boxing, athletics and tennis, like Norrie.
This week Hytro announced a new partnership with Manchester City Women, ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg with Chelsea. “The performance partnership will see the team utilise Hytro wearables and technology as part of its world-leading approach to athletic performance and recovery,” Manchester City said.
Hytro, founded by 35-year-old Dr Warren Bradley, cites scientific studies that show blood flow restriction – a compression around the top of the thigh or arm to temporarily reduce circulation – increases muscle stress and makes training more impactful and efficient. The results are stronger muscles, less recovery time and reduced soreness.
It could also have a vital application for astronauts, however. Muscle mass and bone density can be affected by spending time in microgravity because there is no resistance to everyday movement. It is believed that using blood flow restriction may help to counter the harmful effects of spending extended periods in space.
That theory will be tested over the coming week on the Fram2 mission, which is aiming to be the first human spaceflight over the Earth’s polar regions. It is being operated by Musk-founded SpaceX on behalf of Chun Wang, a Chinese-born crypto investor who is also commanding the mission as one of four people on a Crew Dragon spacecraft.
During the mission, which is set to blast off on Tuesday and last three to five days, the crew will wear blood flow restriction products made by Hytro and Canadian company Delfi Medical Innovations during exercise. It will build on research from last year’s Polaris Dawn mission, which was also operated by SpaceX, in which Musk owns a 42 per cent stake.
Hytro test could speed up Musk Mars mission
The tests, which will be carried out at 450km above Earth, are part of a project in collaboration with the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, Northumbria University’s Aerospace Medicine and Rehabilitation Laboratory and space technology leaders Vast and Labfront.
“This study is a massive step not just for Hytro but also the wider BFR community,” said Dr Joe Handsaker, the company’s chief innovation officer.
“By proving that BFR is safe to perform not only passively, as we saw on Polaris Dawn, but also whilst performing exercise, this will unlock the next stage of space research where we will be able to look at whether BFR improves exercise efficiency as much in micro-gravity as it has been shown to do here on earth.”
If successful, it could even accelerate Musk’s quest to populate other planets. “Our ability to maintain our muscle mass and function is crucial not only for spaceflight but for our everyday lives,” said co-study lead Dr Tom Maden-Wilkinson, of Sheffield Hallam University and Emles Bioventures.
“In bringing together experts from different fields of industry and academia, we hope that this work helps bring us ever closer to some of the solutions that will enable the aim of humans going to Mars.”