Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30475660›Full record

SynthesisSports health

Blood Flow-Restricted Training for Lower Extremity Muscle Weakness due to Knee Pathology: A Systematic Review.

Sue Barber-Westin, Frank R Noyes

Registry-linked trialOpen access · bronzeAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07141316 (Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Combined With Electrostimulation After Knee Arthroplasty), which is not on this map. Cited by 25 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07141316 naactive not recruitingnot on this map

Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Combined With Electrostimulation After Knee Arthroplasty: Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of PaviaRan2025 to 2026Enrolled60ConditionsOsteo Arthritis KneeArmsBlood flow restriction combined with electrostimulation.
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sue Barber-WestinCincinnati Sportsmedicine and Orthopaedic Center-Mercy Health and the Noyes Knee Institute, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Frank R NoyesCincinnati Sportsmedicine and Orthopaedic Center-Mercy Health and the Noyes Knee Institute, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Cincinnati Sportsmedicine and Orthopaedic Center · USMercy Health · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

context: Blood flow-restricted training (BFRT) has been suggested to treat lower extremity muscle weakness. The efficacy of BFRT for muscle problems related to knee pathology is unclear.

objective: To determine whether BFRT (1) improves muscle strength and cross-sectional area (CSA) for chronic knee-related lower extremity atrophy and (2) prevents muscle atrophy after knee surgery. DATA SOURCES:: A systematic review of the literature from 1974 to 2017 was conducted using the PubMed and Cochrane databases. STUDY SELECTION:: Controlled trials that used BFRT to treat chronic knee-related lower extremity muscle atrophy or to prevent muscle atrophy after knee surgery that measured the effects on quadriceps or hamstrings muscle strength or CSA were included. STUDY

design: Systematic review. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:: Level 2. DATA EXTRACTION:: Data were extracted as available from 9 studies (8 level 1, 1 level 2). Assessment of study quality was rated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database or Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies instruments.

results: BFRT was used after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and routine knee arthroscopy and in patients with knee osteoarthritis or patellofemoral pain. There were a total of 165 patients and 170 controls. Vascular occlusion and exercise protocols varied; all studies except 1 incorporated exercises during occlusion, most of which focused on the quadriceps. Six of 7 studies that measured quadriceps strength reported statistically significant improvements after training. Few benefits in quadriceps CSA were reported. Hamstrings strength was only measured in 2 studies. There were no complications related to training.

conclusion: Published limited data show BFRT to be safe and potentially effective in improving quadriceps muscle strength in patients with weakness and atrophy related to knee pathology. The use of short-duration vascular occlusion and light-load resistance exercises appears safe after knee surgery or in arthritic knees. This treatment option requires further investigation to refine protocols related to cuff pressure and exercise dosage and duration.

Indexed as

Regional Blood FlowExercise TherapyHamstring MusclesHumansKneeKnee InjuriesMuscle WeaknessMuscular AtrophyPostoperative ComplicationsQuadriceps MuscleResistance Trainingblood flow resistance trainingquadriceps strengtheningresistance training

Identifiers

PMID30475660
PMCPMC6299354
OpenAlexW2903418590

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.