2024, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (2): 258-262

Application trends of blood flow restriction training in clinical rehabilitation

Xie Enli, Tao Huimin   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The use of blood flow restriction training in clinical rehabilitation is becoming more common, in part due to technological advances and increased interest in research and medicine.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the global trend and development prospects of clinical rehabilitation-related blood flow restriction training application, identify research gaps, and propose future research directions.
METHODS: Web of Science, PubMed, and Elsevier were searched for literature related to clinical rehabilitation using blood flow restriction training published from 2001 to 2022. A total of 515 articles were included for further review. Bibliometrics, exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis were used to reveal the emerging research fields and topics.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: First of all, the overall research trend of the number of published articles shows a steady rise. The United States is the main research area in this field, and universities contribute the most to journals. Secondly, a core group of authors, led by Loenneke JP, Abe T and Dankel SJ, has been formed, with less collaboration among highly productive authors. Finally, research on blood flow restriction training focuses on skeletal muscle rehabilitation, cognitive functional activity, and chronic disease rehabilitation in clinical rehabilitation, with particular attention to the application of blood flow restriction in the recovery of symptoms such as muscle atrophy, knee pain, and joint effusion after anterior cruciate reconstruction surgery. Theoretical research on low-pressure blood flow restriction that is effective in relieving musculoskeletal symptoms has been hot in recent years, which can systematically guide the musculoskeletal rehabilitation in clinical practice. In the future, clinicians will extend follow-up periods, register larger and more diverse sample sizes, and use randomization techniques to determine appropriate prescribing indications for rehabilitating patients, ensure clinical safety, and quantitatively analyze and develop rehabilitation protocols with the maximum effect at the minimum effective dose for different clinical populations.

Key words: blood flow restriction training, clinical rehabilitation, bibliometrics, clustering analysis, topics, trend, visualization