Lin Qiuxiang, Yu Debiao, Zhang Yuping, Chen Xiaoting, Qin Jiawei, Wu Fuchun
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Quanzhou First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, China.
College of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China.
Front Physiol. 2025 Mar 17;16:1524480. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1524480. eCollection 2025.
The effectiveness of low-load blood flow restriction training (LL-BFRT) in alleviating symptoms in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) remains inconclusive. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to comprehensively assess the effects of LL-BFRT compared to conventional resistance training on pain, muscle strength, and functional capacity in individuals with KOA.
PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, EBSCO, Scopus, and Cochrane trails were searched.
We included randomized controlled trials involving patients with KOA, in which the intervention group underwent LL-BFRT.
Literature quality and risk of bias were assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale and the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias Tool (ROB 2). Data were extracted using a predefined table, including outcomes such as pain, quadriceps muscle strength, 30-s sit-to-stand test (30STS) and Timed Up and Go test (TUG).
Ten studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results indicated that, compared to conventional resistance training, LL-BFRT significantly improved knee joint pain [SMD = 0.25, 95%CI (0.02, 0.48), P = 0.03], increased quadriceps muscle strength [SMD = 0.46, 95%CI (0.04, 0.88), P = 0.03], and enhanced performance on the 30s sit-to-stand test (30STS) [WMD = 1.71, 95%CI (0.30, 3.11), P = 0.02]. However, no significant difference was observed in the improvement of the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) [WMD = -0.13, 95%CI (-0.51, 0.24), P = 0.49]. Subgroup analysis revealed that interventions with an occlusion pressure >100 mmHg and a duration ≤6 weeks had a significant impact on pain relief, quadriceps muscle strength, and the 30STS performance. For patients with KOA aged >65 years, LL-BFRT was more effective in alleviating pain, while for patients aged ≤65 years, it demonstrated more significant improvements in quadriceps strength and 30STS performance.
Limited evidence suggests that LL-BFRT may be more effective than conventional resistance training in improving pain, quadriceps muscle strength, and 30STS performance in patients with KOA, while exhibiting a comparable effect on TUG test.
https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/#myprospero, identifier CRD42024603542.
低负荷血流限制训练（LL-BFRT）对缓解膝关节骨关节炎（KOA）患者症状的有效性尚无定论。本系统评价和荟萃分析旨在全面评估LL-BFRT与传统阻力训练相比，对KOA患者疼痛、肌肉力量和功能能力的影响。
检索了PubMed、Embase、Web of Science、EBSCO、Scopus和Cochrane试验库。
纳入了涉及KOA患者的随机对照试验，其中干预组接受LL-BFRT。
使用物理治疗证据数据库（PEDro）量表和Cochrane偏倚风险工具（ROB 2）评估文献质量和偏倚风险。使用预定义表格提取数据，包括疼痛、股四头肌力量、30秒坐立试验（30STS）和计时起立行走试验（TUG）等结果。
荟萃分析纳入了10项研究。汇总结果表明，与传统阻力训练相比，LL-BFRT显著改善了膝关节疼痛[标准化均数差（SMD）=0.25，95%置信区间（CI）（0.02，0.48），P=0.03]，增加了股四头肌力量[SMD=0.46，95%CI（0.04，0.88），P=0.03]，并提高了30秒坐立试验（30STS）的表现[加权均数差（WMD）=1.71，95%CI（0.30，3.11），P=0.02]。然而，计时起立行走试验（TUG）的改善情况未观察到显著差异[WMD=-0.13，95%CI（-0.51，0.24），P=0.49]。亚组分析显示，闭塞压力>100 mmHg且持续时间≤6周的干预措施对疼痛缓解、股四头肌力量和30STS表现有显著影响。对于年龄>65岁的KOA患者，LL-BFRT在缓解疼痛方面更有效，而对于年龄≤65岁的患者，它在股四头肌力量和30STS表现方面有更显著的改善。
有限的证据表明，LL-BFRT在改善KOA患者疼痛、股四头肌力量和30STS表现方面可能比传统阻力训练更有效，而在TUG试验中表现出相当的效果。
https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/#myprospero，标识符CRD42024603542。
