(07) THE IMPACT OF BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION TRAINING ON ENDURANCE AND FATIGUE PERCEPTION IN COLLEGIATE TRACK ATHLETES: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Purpose:

Blood flow restriction (BFR) training, as a method to enhance muscle strength and endurance, has garnered increasing attention in sports science. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the effects of different blood flow restriction pressures (30% and 50%) on the endurance performance, heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate (HR), perceived exertion (RPE), lactate levels, and blood oxygen saturation of collegiate male Track athletes during an incremental load cycling ergometer test.

Methods:

This study enrolled 22 healthy collegiate male Track athletes, who were randomly divided into two groups to undergo training with 30% and 50% blood flow restriction pressure, respectively. An inflatable cuff (Kaatsu Master) was used to apply pressure on the thigh, and an incremental load cycling ergometer test was conducted with loads of 50W, 100W, 150W, 175W, and 200W, with each stage lasting 120 seconds. HRV indicators (recorded with a Polar H10 including Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences (RMSSD) and Standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN), heart rate, RPE, lactate levels (measured with Lactate Pro 2), and blood oxygen saturation (measured with a Pulse Oximeter) were collected and analyzed. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis, including repeated-measures ANOVA, to assess differences in various indicators between the two groups.

RESULTS:

All participants completed the experiment. Repeated-measures ANOVA analysis revealed significant differences in RMSSD, SDNN, heart rate, and lactate levels as recovery time increased, both between groups and at different time points (RMSSD: Time: F=413.284, p< 0.01, Group: F=16.572, p< 0.01, ES=0.75; SDNN: Time: F=377.23, p< 0.01, Group: F=14.113, p< 0.01, ES=0.68; Heart Rate: Time: F=302.156, p< 0.01, Group: F=18.422, p< 0.01, ES=0.81; Lactate: Time: F=289.45, p< 0.01, Group: F=20.884, p< 0.01, ES=0.85). Additionally, significant differences were observed in blood oxygen saturation (Group: F=198.672, p< 0.01, ES=0.87) as well as duration of cycling on the ergometer (Group: F=2.843, p >0.05, ES=0.15). However, differences in RPE between the groups were not significant (Group: F=2.843, p >0.05, ES=0.15).

CONCLUSION:

This study demonstrates that 50% blood flow restriction pressure causes more significant physiological changes and reductions in endurance than 30% pressure, highlighting the potential impact of applying BFR in sports training, especially when considering athletes' endurance and recovery processes.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS:

These findings provide important physiological evidence on the application of BFR training for sports coaches and athletes. Careful consideration and caution when using BFR should be emphasized on to avoid excessive fatigue and potential training-related risks.

Acknowledgements: None