BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION AS A POST-EXERCISE RECOVERY STRATEGY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE LITERATURE

Our Research and Innovation initiative is moving forward in the area of recovery strategies. Members of our High Performance staff published a new research article in the journal of Biology of Sport, one of the highest impact factor journals in the area of Sports Science. This study has helped our team gain a better understanding of the effectiveness of blood flow restriction (BFR) for recovery, which is one of the strategies that have been implemented in our National Teams. The aim of this study was to systematically review the current literature on BFR as a post-exercise recovery strategy. Experimental studies investigating the effect of BFR on recovery after exercise were included. Only studies meeting the following inclusion criteria were selected: (a) studies investigating about BFR as a post-exercise recovery strategy in athletes and healthy individuals; (b) the full text being available in English; (c) experimental research study design. Studies that exclusively analyzed BFR as a recovery strategy during the exercise (e.g., recovery strategy between bouts of exercise) were excluded. These findings inform practitioners about the state-of-the-art of BFR as a post-exercise recovery strategy. BFR could be a potential post-exercise recovery strategy, but practitioners should use caution when applying this method of recovery for their athletes and clients.

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PUSHING FOR A CHANGE IN WOMEN’S SOCCER FROM THE UNITED STATES SOCCER FEDERATION

Our staff has recently published a research article in the Aspetar Sports Medicine Journal (LINK) to show how US Soccer is pushing for a change in women’s soccer. In the United States, soccer is experiencing an inspiring long-term participation growth in the game. Specifically, the U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT) is the most successful international women’s soccer team after winning four World Cup titles, four Olympic Gold medals, and nine CONCACAF Gold Cups.

Multiple factors have facilitated growth in the women’s game, including the professionalism of the sport and the evolution of female leagues. The U.S. Soccer Federation is pushing for a change in women’s soccer and this may be observed by multiple initiatives across the organization. One of the greatest news for women’s soccer in the United States is that the federation, the United States National Soccer Team Players Association (USNSTPA, which is the labor organization for the current members of the USMNT, and a membership organization for alumni members of the USMNT), and the United States Women's National Team Players Association (USWNTPA, which serves as a labor organization for the current members of the USWNT) agreed to an unprecedented new collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). Key aspects of this agreement are the equalization of FIFA World Cup prize money, identical appearance fees and game bonuses, and commercial revenue share. Also, these agreements improve non-economic terms, including player safety and health, data privacy and the need to balance responsibilities to both country and club.

From a scientific perspective, there are a few challenges with regards to women’s soccer:

1) Having a better understanding of the needs of players and coaches.

2) Research in women’s soccer should be intensified.

3) Knowledge must be disseminated in an effective way.

4) Change the practice for the benefit of coaches and players.

However, the federation has already started a plan of action which will grow the women’s soccer game not only in the United States but also internationally.

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