REVIEW article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1612685
This article is part of the Research TopicAcute and Chronic Physiological Adaptations to Resistance Exercises Across Various Populations: Mechanisms and Practical ApplicationsView all 21 articles
The Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Combined with Resistance Training on Lower Limb Strength, Muscle Hypertrophy, Jumping Ability, and Sprint Speed in Athletes: A Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Graduation School, Guangzhou Sport University, Gudong Guangzhou, China
- 2Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- 3Macao Polytechnic University, Macau, Macao, SAR China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Objective: This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the comparative effects of blood flow restriction resistance training (BFR-RT) versus traditional resistance training (RT) on lower limb muscle hypertrophy, maximal strength, jumping ability, and sprint performance in athletes.Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Embase and SPORTDiscus databases. This search identified 181 studies, of which 15 met the inclusion criteria. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, and data were analyzed using StataMP 17.0.The analysis revealed that BFR-RT significantly enhanced lower limb maximal strength (ES = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.03-0.52, p = 0.031, I² = 25%), demonstrating its effectiveness in improving strength. However, no significant differences were observed between BFR-RT and RT for lower limb muscle hypertrophy (ES = 0.17, 95% CI: -0.15-0.50, p = 0.293, I² = 0%), jumping ability (ES = 0.25, 95% CI: -0.04 to 0.54, p = 0.091, I² = 0%), or sprint performance (ES = -0.1, 95% CI: -0.39-0.19, p = 0.136, I² = 0%).The findings suggest that while BFR-RT is effective in improving maximal strength, it does not offer additional benefits over traditional RT in terms of muscle hypertrophy, jumping ability, or sprint performance.
Keywords: Athletes, Resistance Training, Lower limb strength, Blood flow restriction training, Athletic Performance
Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 14 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Deng, Lin, Shi, Li, Guan, Liang and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zeyun Guan, Macao Polytechnic University, Macau, Macao, SAR China
Chaoming Liang, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, 510500, Guangdong Province, China
Jian Sun, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, 510500, Guangdong Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.