Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Combined with Low-Intensity Resistance Training on Lower-Limb Muscle Strength and Mass in Post-Middle-Aged Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Hualong Chang, Mengxing Yao, Biao Chen, Yongle Qi and Jianli Zhang ()
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Hualong Chang: College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Mengxing Yao: College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Biao Chen: College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Yongle Qi: College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Jianli Zhang: Institute of Human Movement and Sports Engineering, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: We studied the effect of blood flow restriction (BFR) combined with low-intensity resistance training (LIRT) on lower-limb muscle strength and mass in post-middle-aged adults. The PubMed, OVID, ProQuest, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were used to obtain randomized controlled trials, and the effects of BFR and LIRT (BFRt) on muscle strength and mass in adults were examined. The Cochrane risk of bias tool assessed bias in the included trials. The combined effects of BFR and LIRT (BFRt) were calculated by meta-analysis, the association between muscle strength/mass and interventions was determined by meta-regression, and beneficial variables of intervention were explored by subgroup analysis. A total of 11 articles were included in the meta-analysis. The combined effects showed that BFRt significantly improved lower extremity muscle strength but not muscle mass gain. Meta-regression analysis indicated that the effect of BFRt on changes in muscle strength was correlated with frequency of the intervention. Subgroup analysis revealed that BFRt achieved greater muscle strength gains than normal activity, LIRT, and similar muscle strength gains compared to high-intensity resistance training. The increased muscle strength after BFRt was noticed with a frequency of three times a week, but not with a frequency of two times a week, and the difference between these subgroups was statistically significant. Our findings indicate that BFRt can increase lower-limb muscle strength in post-middle-aged adults. Frequency of intervention is a key variable; particularly, a schedule of three times a week is effective in improving muscle strength.

Keywords: blood flow restriction; adults; randomized controlled trial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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