Investigation of arterial blood flow changes according to compression level in a practical blood flow restriction training method: A cross-sectional experimental study
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Recreation, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Istanbul Gelisim University, Istanbul, Turkey
- 2Department of Sports Medicine, Istanbul Medical Faculty, Division Of Medical Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey
- 3Department of Movement and Training Sciences in Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey
- 4Department of Sports Health Sciences, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey
Abstract
Background: Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is used to partially restrict limb blood flow during exercise. Practical blood flow restriction (pBFR) applications often rely on subjective pressure scales; however, the extent to which perceived compression levels influence arterial blood flow remains unclear. This study aimed to examine changes in popliteal artery blood flow velocity across different subjective compression levels during pBFR. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study included 42 healthy physically active adults (18–37 years). pBFR was applied to the dominant thigh using a 5 cm elastic band wrapped twice around the proximal thigh. Participants reported perceived compression as free flow (0/10), light (3–4/10), moderate (6–7/10), and high (9–10/10). Popliteal artery blood flow velocity and vessel diameter were measured using Doppler ultrasound. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare outcomes across compression levels. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine associations among blood flow velocity, thigh circumference, and skinfold thickness. Analyses were conducted using pooled male and female data. Results: Blood flow velocity progressively decreased with increasing compression. Significant differences were observed between all compression levels (p < 0.001). Blood flow velocity values were significantly correlated across compression levels. No significant associations were found between anthropometric measures and blood flow velocity. Complete arterial occlusion was not observed in any participant. Conclusions: Subjective pBFR compression levels were associated with graded reductions in popliteal artery blood flow velocity under the present experimental conditions. These findings reflect acute hemodynamic responses at rest and should not be generalized to exercise adaptations. Anthropometric characteristics were not associated with blood flow responses. Further research is needed to determine the translational relevance of subjective compression levels during exercise.
Related
- Comparison between practical and traditional blood flow restriction methods in upper limb resistance training: a study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial
- Next-Generation Sequencing in Practical Wildlife Disease Investigation: Metagenomic Insights into European Bison and Gazelle Mortality and Morbidity Events.
- Nutritional profiling and pharmacological investigation of Baccaurea motleyana peel and seed through experimental and computational approach
- Experimental investigation of pile diameter and group configuration effects on soil pile interaction and lateral group efficiency in sand
- Experimental Investigation of Tear Strength, Stress Relaxation, and Anisotropy of Polypropylene Surgical Meshes
BibTeX
@article{ozagir2026investigation,
title = {{Investigation of arterial blood flow changes according to compression level in a practical blood flow restriction training method: A cross-sectional experimental study}},
author = {Meltem Ozagir and Sergen Devran and Orkun Akkoc and Bülent Bayraktar and Ilker Yucesir},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0359341},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359341},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Investigation of arterial blood flow changes according to compression level in a practical blood flow restriction training method: A cross-sectional experimental study
AU - Meltem Ozagir
AU - Sergen Devran
AU - Orkun Akkoc
AU - Bülent Bayraktar
AU - Ilker Yucesir
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0359341
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359341
AB - Background: Blood flow restriction (BFR) training is used to partially restrict limb blood flow during exercise. Practical blood flow restriction (pBFR) applications often rely on subjective pressure scales; however, the extent to which perceived compression levels influence arterial blood flow remains unclear. This study aimed to examine changes in popliteal artery blood flow velocity across different subjective compression levels during pBFR. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study included 42 healthy physically active adults (18–37 years). pBFR was applied to the dominant thigh using a 5 cm elastic band wrapped twice around the proximal thigh. Participants reported perceived compression as free flow (0/10), light (3–4/10), moderate (6–7/10), and high (9–10/10). Popliteal artery blood flow velocity and vessel diameter were measured using Doppler ultrasound. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare outcomes across compression levels. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine associations among blood flow velocity, thigh circumference, and skinfold thickness. Analyses were conducted using pooled male and female data. Results: Blood flow velocity progressively decreased with increasing compression. Significant differences were observed between all compression levels (p < 0.001). Blood flow velocity values were significantly correlated across compression levels. No significant associations were found between anthropometric measures and blood flow velocity. Complete arterial occlusion was not observed in any participant. Conclusions: Subjective pBFR compression levels were associated with graded reductions in popliteal artery blood flow velocity under the present experimental conditions. These findings reflect acute hemodynamic responses at rest and should not be generalized to exercise adaptations. Anthropometric characteristics were not associated with blood flow responses. Further research is needed to determine the translational relevance of subjective compression levels during exercise.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -