SynthesisJournal of sport and health science2020
Effects of blood flow restriction without additional exercise on strength reductions and muscular atrophy following immobilization: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of sport and health science, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness and safety of blood flow restriction training for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review with meta analysis.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of combined blood flow restriction and neuromuscular electrical stimulation on skeletal muscle hypertrophy in adults: a systematic review and meta analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Bed Rest on Physical Performance in Athletes: A Systematic and Narrative Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of Blood Flow Restriction Technique on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of Blood Flow Restriction on Functional, Physiological and Structural Variables of Muscle in Patients with Chronic Pathologies: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Physical Training on the Excitability of the Motor Cortex, Physical Performance, and Motor Learning: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- An acute crossover trial of passive movement training with and without blood flow restriction to determine the impact on postprandial glycaemia.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Cold and hot consumption and health outcomes among US Asian and White populations.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Correlation of Physical Activity Level with Muscle Strength and Size During One Week of Knee Joint Immobilization.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Trends and Practices on Blood Flow Restriction Training Are Not Largely Aligned With the Contemporary Evidence.Cureus · 2025Article
- Blood Flow Restriction Training: A Tool to Enhance Rehabilitation and Build Athlete Resiliency.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Vascular Impairment, Muscle Atrophy, and Cognitive Decline: Critical Age-Related Conditions.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Blood flow restriction as a potential therapy to restore physical function following COVID-19 infection.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Article
- Blood Flow Restriction Therapy and Its Use for Rehabilitation and Return to Sport: Physiology, Application, and Guidelines for Implementation.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2022Article
- Non-coding RNA basis of muscle atrophy.Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids · 2021Review
- Relationship Between Sarcopenia and Cardiovascular Diseases in the Elderly: An Overview.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: To investigate whether blood flow restriction (BFR) without concomitant exercise mitigated strength reduction and atrophy of thigh muscles in subjects under immobilization for lower limbs. Methods: The following databases were searched: PubMed, CINAHL, PEDro, Web of Science, Central, and Scopus. Results: The search identified 3 eligible studies, and the total sample in the identified studies consisted of 38 participants. Isokinetic and isometric torque of the knee flexors and extensors was examined in 2 studies. Cross-sectional area of thigh muscles was evaluated in 1 study, and thigh girth was measured in 2 studies. The BFR protocol was 5 sets of 5 min of occlusion and 3 min of free flow, twice daily for approximately 2 weeks. As a whole, the included studies indicate that BFR without exercise is able to minimize strength reduction and muscular atrophy after immobilization. It is crucial to emphasize, however, that the included studies showed a high risk of bias, especially regarding allocation concealment, blinding of outcome assessment, intention-to-treat analyses, and group similarity at baseline. Conclusion: Although potentially useful, the high risk of bias presented by original studies limits the indication of BFR without concomitant exercise as an effective countermeasure against strength reduction and atrophy mediated by immobilization.
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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.