TABLE 1.

Characteristics of included studies.

Reference	Population	Sample size	Sample characteristics	Exercise protocol	BFR intervention	Outcome variables
Arriel et al. (2018) [37]	Cyclists	n = 28 (male) Post-exercise ischemic conditioning 2 × 5 group, n = 7 Post-exercise ischemic conditioning 5 × 2 group, n = 7 SHAM 2 × 5 group, n = 7 SHAM 5 × 2 group, n = 7	Post-exercise ischemic conditioning 2 × 5 group: Age = 27.6 ± 4 years old Height: 1.77 ± 0.05 m Weight: 80.3 ± 10.7 kg Post-exercise ischemic conditioning 5 × 2 group: Age = 25.0 ± 4.5 years old Height: 1.76 ± 0.06 m Weight: 76 ± 8.7 kg SHAM 2 × 5 group: Age = 27.8 ± 4.2 years old Height: 1.76 ± 0.02 m Weight: 77.8 ± 7.5 kg SHAM 5 × 2 group: Age = 28.3 ± 2.3 years old Height: 1.75 ± 0.02 m Weight: 74.6 ± 6.2 kg	Maximal incremental cycling test	Post-exercise ischemic conditioning 2 × 5 group (50 mmHg above systolic blood pressure): 2 cycles of 5 min occlusion / 5 min reperfusion. Post-exercise ischemic conditioning 5 × 2 group (50 mmHg above systolic blood pressure): 5 cycles of 2 min occlusion / 2 min reperfusion. SHAM 2 × 5 group (20 mmHg above systolic blood pressure): 2 cycles of 5 min occlusion / 5 min reperfusion. SHAM 5 × 2 group (20 mmHg above systolic blood pressure): 5 cycles of 2 min occlusion / 2 min reperfusion. 5 min after the end of the test, participants adopted a supine position and the occlusion was performed with a blood pressure cuff (77.0 cm length × 21.5 cm width), which was applied unilaterally to the sub-inguinal region of the upper thigh.	Before the incremental test: Perceived recovery scale Muscle soreness Creatine Kinase During the incremental test: Mean heart rate Maximum heart rate Heart rate recovery Peak power output Peak power output Rating of perceived exertion
Beaven et al. (2012) [40]	Recreationally trained individuals	n = 14 (10 males and 4 females) 2 groups of participants following a crossover design: experimental (occlusion) group and control group	Age: 32.0 ± 7.0 years old Body mass: 76.4 ± 12.9 kg	Exercise protocol involving lower-body strength test, power test and repeated sprints	Participants adopted a supine position immediately after the exercise protocol. Unilateral occlusion cuff (BJ Dare Medical Equipment, China), which was placed on the proximal portion of the leg. The cuff had a pneumatic bag along its inner surface which was connected to a pressure gauge that was manually inflated to either 15 mmHg (control group) or 220 mmHg (BFR group) for 3 min. The cuff was alternated with the contralateral leg for an additional period of 3 min. This cycle was repeated twice for a total of 12 min, so both legs had BFR intervention for 6 min per leg.	From CMJ and Squat Jump: Maximum and mean values for eccentric and concentric peak power, peak velocity, and peak acceleration Maximum and mean values for concentric work Jump height Time to peak power and velocity From other tests: CMJ power, squat jump power, leg press maximum strength, leg press average strength, leg press total power, leg press work, leg press velocity, and cumulative sprint times
Castilla-López & Romero-Franco (2023) [36]	Youth soccer players	n = 40 (male) 2 groups of participants following a crossover design: experimental (occlusion) group and control group	Age = 17.1 ± 0.8 years old Height: 1.77 ± 0.06 m Weight: 70.2 ± 7.0 kg	Match (inclusion criteria: > 50 minutes played)	Active BFR protocol with players completing a recovery session which consisted of 5-minute running warm-up, 6 high-speed running actions (intensity: 60–70%), and interval drill in the form of rondos with the ball (9 v 2 – 3 × 5 minutes, rest: 90 seconds). This protocol was applied 24 hours after the match. Participants wore the Occlusion Cuff® (Belfast, United Kingdom) with a wrap size (7 × 82 cm in length). The cuffs were placed below the gluteal line in both legs and inflated at the same time. Participants adopted an upright position to set the blood pressure to ~60% of the limb occlusion pressure. The elastic wraps were deflated for 90 seconds between drills.	CMJ height RPE Hooper index
Ceylan et al. (2023) [38]	Elite judo athletes	n = 13 (male) 2 groups of participants following a randomized crossover design: experimental group and placebo group	Age: 18.6 ± 0.9 years old Height: 1.74 ± 0.05 m Body mass: 72.4 ± 7.1 kg	Special judo fitness test	Participants adopted a supine position and a pneumatic cuff (77.0 cm length × 21.5 cm width; Riester 5255, Rudolf Riester) was placed around the upper thigh. It was inflated to 50 mmHg above the systolic blood pressure to inhibit arterial flow for 5 min. 3 cycles for each leg with 5 min of reperfusion for each BFR episode. The BFR group achieved a mean pressure of 180 (12) mmHg while the control group was set at 20 mmHg.	Heart rate Lactate Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) CMJ height Handgrip strength Muscle soreness
Daab et al. (2021) [33]	Semi-professional soccer players	n = 12 (male) 2 groups of participants following a randomized crossover design: experimental group and placebo group	Age = 23.0 ± 1.0 years old Height= 1.79 ± 0.01 m Body mass = 77.9 ± 3.4 kg	Loughborough intermittent shuttle running test	Participants adopted a supine position, and a pneumatic cuff (77.0 cm length × 21.5 cm width) was placed on the proximal portion of the thigh. The protocol consisted of three cycles of 5-minute occlusion and 5-minute reperfusion. Bilaterally vascular occlusion was applied to the BFR group at a pressure of 50 mmHg above the systolic blood pressure and 0 mmHg during the reperfusion. The pressure for the placebo group was set at 20 mmHg.	Squat jump height CMJ height Maximal voluntary contraction of quadriceps (N) 20 m sprint speed Creatine Kinase Lactate dehydrogenase C-reactive protein Muscle soreness
Garcia et al. (2017) [35]	Amateur rugby players	n = 8 (male) 2 groups of participants following a randomized crossover design: experimental group and control group	Age = 24.0 ± 4.0 years old Height= 1.79 ± 0.05 m Body mass = 88.0 ± 9.0 kg	8 drills (5 min work per set followed by 30 s passive rest): jumps, skill passing, position scrum with member alternation, slalom agility sprints, rest and hydration, dragon walks, slalom agility sprints, and 20 m sprint	Participants adopted a seated position, and a pneumatic cuff (96 cm length × 13 cm width) was placed on the sub-inguinal portion of the thigh. The protocol consisted of three cycles of 5-minute occlusion, alternated with 2 minutes of reperfusion. The occlusion and reperfusion phases were alternated between thighs. Occlusion was applied to the BFR group at a pressure of 220 mmHg and 0 mmHg during the reperfusion. No cuffs were applied to the control group, which sat passively for 21 minutes.	T-test time CMJ height Continuous CMJ (30 s) height Perceived recovery scale
Lillquist et al. (2023) [42]	Healthy individuals	n = 20 (male) 2 groups of participants following a randomized crossover design: experimental group and control group	Age = 21.0 ± 2.8 years old Height= 1.81 ± 0.07 m Body mass = 81.9 ± 13.7 kg	100 box drop jumps (10 sets × 10 repetitions). 10 seconds of recovery was allowed between drops jumps and 1 minute between sets.	BFR was applied with Delfi Portable Tourniquet System (PTS) ii and contoured (12 cm wide), inflation cuff (Delfi Medical Innovations, Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada). The cuff was placed on the proximal portion of the thigh in each leg and the individualized tourniquet pressure was set as a percentage of limb occlusion pressure, where venous blood flow was completely restricted. session. ~198 mmHg was applied directly to one leg. Post-exercise ischemic conditioning was carried out for 3 sets of 5 minutes on the direct leg (rest between sets: 5 minutes). During the rest period, the opposite leg had 20 mmHg of pressure for 3 sets of 5 minutes per leg (rest between sets: 5 minutes). The cuff was inflated to 20 mmHg for the control group for 3 sets of 5 minutes per leg (rest between sets: 5 minutes).	Muscle soreness Knee flexion and extension peak torque
Northey et al. (2016) [39]	Recreationally trained individuals	n = 12 (male) 3 groups of participants following a randomized crossover design: occlusion group, sequential intermittent pneumatic compression, and passive control group	Age: 24.0 ± 6.3 years old Height: 1.80 ± 0.09 m Body weight: 84.8 ± 9.6 kg	100 back squats (10 sets × 10 repetitions) with an initial load of 70% 1RM. If the participant was not able to complete the target number of repetitions without assistance, the load was reduced by 5% of the initial load. There was a 3-minute recovery period between sets.	Occlusion group: participants adopted a supine position with a unilateral occlusion cuff (Flexiport Reusable Blood Pressure Cuff, Welch Allyn, Australia), which was placed on the proximal portion of the leg and inflated to 220 mmHg. 3 min later, the cuff was alternated to the other leg for 3 min, before being repeated on each leg (12 min in total). Sequential intermittent pneumatic compression: participants adopted a supine position with Recovery Boots (RecoveryPump, LLC., USA), which were placed on each leg. The chambers were inflated to a pressure of 80 mmHg with a deflation time of 15 seconds for 45 min. Passive control group: 45 min in a supine position.	Concentric peak isokinetic torque of the quadriceps CMJ height Squat jump height Perceived recovery status Muscle soreness
Page et al. (2017) [25]	Recreationally active individuals	n = 16 (male) 2 groups of participants: Experimental group, n = 8 SHAM group, n = 8	Age: 22.6 ± 2.8 years old Height: 1.79 ± 0.06 cm Body mass: 75.5 ± 8.1 kg	100 drop jumps (60-cm height box)	Participants adopted a supine position and bilateral arterial occlusion cuffs were placed on the proximal portion of the thigh (14.5 cm width; Delfi Medical Innovations, Vancouver, Canada). The inflatable cuffs were connected to a pressure gauge and were automatically inflated to 220 mmHg (BFR group) for 5 min followed by 5 min reperfusion. The pressure for the SHAM group was set at 20 mmHg. This procedure was repeated three times (i.e.,15 min of BFR and 15 min of reperfusion).	Creatine kinase Thigh circumference Muscle soreness CMJ height Maximal isometric voluntary contraction
Williams et al. (2018) [34]	Academy rugby union players	n = 24 (male) 2 groups of participants following a randomized crossover design: experimental group and control group	Age: 21.8 ± 3.0 years old Height: 1.85 ± 0.09 m Body mass: 96.9 ± 10.1 kg	Sprint session (6 × 50 m)	Participants adopted a supine position and occlusion cuffs (11 cm; Sports RehabTourniquet, Sportsrehab) were applied to the proximal point of the thighs. The cuff was manually inflated to 15 mmHg for the control group while the BFR group’s pressure was set at 60% of individually calculated pressures (171–266 mmHg). The protocol consisted of 2 cycles of 3-min occlusion and 3-min reperfusion.	Salivary testosterone Salivary cortisol Blood lactate Creatine Kinase Perception of muscle soreness Peak power output CMJ height
Wong et al. (2022) [41]	Healthy individuals	n = 19 (12 male and 7 female) Each arm was randomly assigned to BFR group or SHAM. Each participant completed both conditions.	Age: 22.0 ± 3.0 years old Height: 1.71 ± 0.09 m Body mass: 76.9 ± 16.4 kg	4 sets × 90 bilateral biceps curls (Male: 4.08 kg; Women: 2.18 kg). If participants could not keep a 60-beat per minute pace, a lighter load was used. Rest: 30 s between sets	Active BFR protocol with both arms simultaneously performing 30 repetitions of biceps curls, followed by 3 sets of 15 repetitions. Rest: 30 seconds of rest between sets. 5 cm nylon cuffs (SC5 Hokanson, Bellevue, WA) were placed on the most proximal portion of both arms. Each arm was randomly assigned to either the blood flow restriction or the SHAM treatment. The cuff of the BFR group was inflated to 80% individual’s resting arterial occlusion pressure while the other arm served as a sham (0 mmHg). The BFR intervention was performed 5 min and 24 hours after the fatiguing protocol.	Each arm’s maximal isometric torque

Note: BFR = Blood flow restriction; CMJ = Countermovement jump; RM = repetition maximum; RPE = rating of perceived exertion