Effects of Blood Flow Restriction and Small-Sided Games on Soccer Passing and Dribbling Stability Under Fatigue (BFR-SSG)

March 23, 2026 updated by: Yue Dou, Beijing Sport University

Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Combined With Small-Sided Games on Passing and Dribbling Stability of Soccer Players Under Fatigue

This study aims to investigate whether applying blood flow restriction (BFR) during small-sided soccer games (SSG) can help soccer players maintain their passing and dribbling stability when they are fatigued. The study includes 40 young male soccer players. Participants will be randomly divided into two groups:

One group will wear pressurized BFR cuffs on their legs (80% of limb occlusion pressure) during a 4v4 training game.

The other group will act as a control, wearing the same cuffs but without any pressure (0% pressure) during the exact same training game.Both groups will complete a 6-week training program, practicing 3 times a week. Before and after the 6-week period, researchers will test the players' physical and technical skills (such as jumping, passing, and dribbling). Importantly, these tests will be conducted both before and immediately after a tiring 45-minute exercise routine to see which training method is more effective at preventing performance drops caused by fatigue.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This study utilizes a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group design. A total of 40 young male soccer players with systematic training backgrounds will be recruited. Following baseline testing, participants will be randomly assigned to either the BFR-SSG group or the SSG control group.The intervention spans 6 weeks, featuring three standardized 90-minute training sessions per week. The core intervention consists of a 4v4 small-sided game module (4 sets of 4 minutes). During this module, the BFR-SSG group will wear pneumatic cuffs inflated to 80% of their individual Limb Occlusion Pressure (LOP), while the control group will wear uninflated cuffs (0% LOP).Pre- and post-intervention assessments will systematically evaluate physiological adaptations (blood lactate, creatine kinase) , neuromuscular function (Countermovement Jump) , and sport-specific technical stability (Loughborough Soccer Passing Test and a 20m change-of-direction dribbling test). To specifically assess performance under metabolic stress, the technical and neuromuscular tests will be conducted at baseline and immediately following a standardized 45-minute fatigue-inducing protocol (Modified LIST). The primary goal is to quantify the attenuation rate of passing and dribbling performance under fatigue and determine if BFR combined with SSG provides superior chronic adaptations compared to SSG alone

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Beijing Municipality
      • Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China, 100084
        • China Football Institute, Beijing Sport University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Young male soccer players. Possess a systematic soccer specific training background and maintain a stable competitive state.

Cleared by the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q), confirming that cardiovascular and metabolic systems can tolerate high-intensity physical testing and blood flow restriction interventions.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any recent history of neuromuscular or musculoskeletal system injuries. Current smoking habit. Consumption of any sports nutrition supplements or drinks that could significantly affect muscle performance or neural excitability (e.g., creatine, caffeine, beta-alanine) within 3 months prior to the start of the study and throughout the experimental period.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Experimental: BFR-SSG Group
Participants are assigned to the blood flow restriction combined with small-sided games group. They wear compression cuffs inflated to 80% of their individualized Limb Occlusion Pressure (LOP) during the core small-sided games training.
Behavioral: Blood Flow Restriction + Small-Sided Games (BFR-SSG)
The intervention lasts for 6 weeks, with 3 standardized 90-minute soccer training sessions per week. During the core 20-minute intervention module, participants play 4v4 small-sided games (4 sets of 4 minutes, with 2 minutes of rest between sets). Cuffs are inflated to 80% LOP during the exercise phase and fully deflated during the rest intervals.
Sham Comparator: Sham Comparator: SSG Control Group
Participants are assigned to the control group. They undergo the exact same small-sided games training while wearing identical cuffs that remain uninflated (0% LOP) to serve as a placebo.
Behavioral: Small-Sided Games (SSG) Control
Participants complete the identical 6-week standardized soccer training program (3 sessions per week) and the 4v4 small-sided games module. However, the cuffs worn by the participants remain at 0% LOP (uninflated) throughout the entire duration of the small-sided games.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Loughborough Soccer Passing Test (LSPT) Performance
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and immediately post-intervention (Week 6). At both time points, the test is performed pre-fatigue and immediately post-fatigue.
The LSPT assesses passing skill and stability. The score is the total time (in seconds) required to complete 16 passes, plus penalty time added for passing errors. To evaluate passing stability under fatigue, the performance attenuation rate is calculated by comparing scores obtained before and immediately after a standardized 45-minute fatigue-inducing protocol (Modified LIST).
Baseline (Week 0) and immediately post-intervention (Week 6). At both time points, the test is performed pre-fatigue and immediately post-fatigue.
20m Change-of-Direction Dribbling Test Technical Deficit
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and immediately post-intervention (Week 6). At both time points, measured pre-fatigue and immediately post-fatigue.
This test evaluates high-speed dribbling stability over a 20m slalom course. The primary metric is the "technical deficit," calculated by subtracting the time taken to complete the course without the ball (sprint) from the time taken with the ball (dribbling). This isolates technical stability from pure physical fatigue.
Baseline (Week 0) and immediately post-intervention (Week 6). At both time points, measured pre-fatigue and immediately post-fatigue.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Countermovement Jump (CMJ) Height
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and immediately post-intervention (Week 6). Measured pre-fatigue and immediately post-fatigue at both time points.
Maximum vertical jump height (in centimeters) measured using a 3D force plate. It evaluates the attenuation of lower limb neuromuscular function and explosive power under metabolic stress.
Baseline (Week 0) and immediately post-intervention (Week 6). Measured pre-fatigue and immediately post-fatigue at both time points.
Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (YYIRT-1) Distance
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 6). Tests are conducted on a separate day, at least 48 hours apart from the main testing day, to avoid residual fatigu
Total running distance (in meters) completed before exhaustion to assess chronic adaptations in soccer-specific intermittent endurance.
Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 6). Tests are conducted on a separate day, at least 48 hours apart from the main testing day, to avoid residual fatigu
Creatine Kinase (CK) Concentration
Time Frame: Fasting baseline (Week 0), 24 hours after the first intervention session (Week 1), and 24 hours after the final intervention session (Week 6).
Absolute creatine kinase concentration (U/L) measured from fingertip capillary blood to evaluate skeletal muscle micro-damage and chronic adaptation
Fasting baseline (Week 0), 24 hours after the first intervention session (Week 1), and 24 hours after the final intervention session (Week 6).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Beijing Sport University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 10, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 22, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 23, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 23, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2026027H

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared due to participant confidentiality and institutional data protectionpolicies.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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