The influence of applied blood flow restriction cuffs on kinematics of submaximal sprinting

Abstract

It is unknown how sports activity combined with blood flow restriction (BFR) on the limbs can impact the exercising limb’s motion. We aimed to compare the lower limb kinematics between submaximal sprinting with and without BFR cuffs (i.e., BFR and normal conditions) when they were applied on the upper thigh. Ten collegiate sprinters performed five 45-m submaximal sprint trials under normal and BFR conditions. The BFR was applied to both legs at the proximal portion of the thigh utilizing elastic cuffs. The cuff pressure was set at approximately 60% of estimated arterial occlusion pressure. Spatiotemporal and hip and knee joint kinematic variables for both legs during submaximal sprinting were obtained using a motion capture system. The results showed, for spatiotemporal variables, no significant difference (p > 0.653), a trivial or small effect size (0.050–0.205), and high correlation coefficients (r > 0.923) between conditions. Moreover, for the joint angles and angular velocities, no significant difference (p > 0.244) and a trivial or small effect size (0.003–0.538), as well as significant correlations (r >0.684) were found between conditions. These results indicate that, in general, there is probably no influence of BFR cuffs on the upper thigh on running kinematics.