The Effect of 8 Weeks of Resistance Training with and Without Blood Flow Restriction on Serum Levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 and Myostatin of Athletic Girls: A Semi-Experimental Study

Insulin-like growth factor-1‎ (IGF-1) and myostatin play an important role in responding to muscle contractions, regulating and stimulating muscle metabolism. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of resistance training with and without blood flow restriction on IGF-1‎ and myostatin of female athletes.

In this semi-experimental study, 33 athletic girls were randomly assigned to three groups of 11 people: 1- traditional resistance training (TRT) (at 80% 1RM), 2- resistance training with blood flow restriction (BFR) (at 30% 1RM), and 3- blood flow restriction group with no exercise. Standing barbell curl and barbell bench press exercises were performed for 8 weeks. Blood samples were taken before and 48 hours after training to assess IGF-1 and myostatin levels by ELISA. Paired t-test was used to compare within-group changes and one-way ANOVA was used to compare between-group changes. Significance level was considered p<0/05.

Myostatin level significantly decreased in both training groups compared to the control (p=0.014). Whereas there was no significant difference in IGF-1 between the three groups (p=0.137).

Due to the similarity of the effect of BFR and TRT on serum levels of IGF-1 and myostatin protein in female athletes, it is recommended to use less intense exercise such as BFR instead of TRT to maintain health.