Effect of post-activation potentiation on the sports performance of athletes: a systematic review

BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the effects of post-activation potentiation (PAP) on sport performance. MethodsThe data used in this study were reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. Researchers extracted relevant randomized controlled trials from the available literature using prominent scientific indexing databases such as EBSCOhost, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, as well as Google Scholar. Ten of the 125 studies that met the inclusion criteria were included. The overall quality of each study was determined using the PEDro scale. Ten studies had scores ranging from 3 to 5. ResultsIn PAP interventions, power (n = 4) was the primary aspect of sports performance, followed by endurance (n = 1), speed (n = 2), and jumping ability (n = 2). Meanwhile, PAP significantly affects the power, endurance, speed, and jumping abilities of athletes in basketball, volleyball, track and field, and soccer. ConclusionCompared with conventional training, PAP is a relatively novel dynamic warm-up routine that can greatly enhance the sports performance of athletes in terms of endurance, power, speed, and jumping ability. As a phenomenon of rapid increase in muscle strength and power caused by high-intensity warm-up activities, PAP can help athletes quickly adjust the physical condition to the best state in the pre-match warm- up. However, since some study findings did not reflect the effect of PAP on the sports performance of athletes, more high-quality randomized controlled trials are required to further prove the effect of PAP. Additionally, the existing evidence does not consider the effect of PAP on agility and flexibility performance. In formulating the PAP induction program, it is also necessary to consider the impact of the gender and age of the inducer, exercise level, pre-stimulation load, and interval time on PAP. Systematic Review Registration: [https://inplasy.com/], identifier: [INPLASY202330120].