@article{LI2025, 
author = {Jing LI and Weimin PAN and Jingyuan FAN and Xiaoyu WEI and Yan HUANG and Huan FENG and Longguo ZHANG and Yingpeng JIANG and Min LIU},
title = {Acute effects of blood flow restriction running warm-up on Achilles tendon morphology and function in basketball athletes},
year = {2025},
journal = {Journal of Army Medical University},
volume = {47},
number = {18},
pages = {2154-2162},
keywords = {blood flow restriction training, warm-up running, Achilles tendon morphology and function, surface electromyography},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.16016/j.2097-0927.202505013},
doi = {10.16016/j.2097-0927.202505013},
abstract = {ObjectiveTo determine the acute effects of blood flow restriction (BFR) running warmup on Achilles tendon morphology and function in basketball players in order to provide a theoretical basis for optimizing warm-up protocols for military personnel and athletes susceptible to Achilles tendon injuries.MethodsTwenty-seven male basketball players were subjected and asked to participate in 3 different running warm-up protocols: low-speed running (LSR), high-speed running (HSR), and BFR combined with LSR (BFR-LSR). The acute changes in Achilles tendon morphology, mechanical properties, and functional performance across the 3 testing sessions were analyzed and compared.ResultsImmediately after training, both HSR warm-up and BFR-LSR warm-up significantly improved Achilles tendon thickness, blood flow, stiffness, and gastrocnemius maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) when compared with LSR warmup (P<0. 05). No statistical differences were observed in above indicators between the BFR-LSR and HSR warm-ups (P>0. 05). 24 hours after training, compared with LSR warm-up, HSR warm-up still significantly improved Achilles tendon thickness, blood flow, stiffness, and gastrocnemius MVIC (P<0. 05). Although BFR-LSR warm-up did not show statistically significant differences in these parameters compared to LSR warm-up, it still demonstrated positive trends. Immediately and 24 h after training, no obvious difference were found in jump performance among the 3 warm-up protocols (P>0. 05), but, both BFR-LSR and HSR warm-ups exhibited superior performance than LSR warm-up.ConclusionImmediately after training, BFR-LSR warm-up demonstrates comparable effects to the HSR warm-up on improving Achilles tendon morphology and performance, as well as enhancing jump performance. However, its sustained and long-term effects require further investigation.}
}