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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Oct 7;21(10):1325.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph21101325.

Effect of Blood Flow Restriction on Gait and Mobility in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Katherine L Hsieh  1 , Andrew Foster  1 , Logan MacIntyre  1 , Reagan Carr  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of Blood Flow Restriction on Gait and Mobility in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Katherine L Hsieh et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Older adults demonstrate gait impairments that increase their risk for falls. These age-related mobility impairments are in part due to declines in muscle mass and strength. High-intensity exercise can improve muscle strength and mobility but may not be tolerable for older adults due to musculoskeletal injury and pain. Blood flow restriction (BFR) with lower-intensity exercise offers a strategy that may be more tolerable for older adults, but whether BFR improves gait and mobility in older adults is unclear. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the effect of BFR on gait and mobility in healthy older adults. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL were systematically searched for articles utilizing BFR in older adults. Articles were included if adults were over 60 years, did not have chronic health conditions, had undergone randomized controlled trials, and presented objectively measured gait outcomes. The search identified 1501 studies, of which 9 were included in the systematic review and 8 studies in the meta-analysis. Outcome measures included the Timed Up and Go (TUG), 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), 400 m walk test, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and 10 m walk test. Meta-analyses found improvements in the TUG (mean difference (MD) = -0.71; 95% CI = -1.05, -0.37; p < 0.001) and SPPB (MD = -0.94; 95% CI = -1.48, -0.39; p < 0.001) in BFR compared to no BFR. There were no differences in gait speed (MD = 0.59; 95% CI = -0.22, 1.41; p = 0.16). BFR may be effective for gait and mobility tasks over shorter distances. Clinicians may consider incorporating BFR to improve mobility and gait function in older adults.

Keywords: aging; fall risk; occlusion training; physical performance; walking.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow chart following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of bias summary.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plots of trials comparing blood flow restriction with no blood flow restriction on the Timed Up and Go. SD = standard deviation; SMD = standardized mean difference [14,17,29,32,33,34].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plots of trials comparing blood flow restriction with no blood flow restriction on gait speed. SD = standard deviation; SMD = standardized mean difference [14,29,30,31,32,34].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plots of trials comparing blood flow restriction with no blood flow restriction on the Short Physical Performance Battery. SD = standard deviation; SMD = standardized mean difference [30,31].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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