effect of postactivation potentiation on short sprint performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: short sprint is an important physical ability that determines the success in various sports modalities and may influence different conditioning activities. postactivation potentiation (pap) is a conditioning method used in practicing sports, which can result in acute improvements in muscle power and performance by interaction of physiological and neural mechanisms. objectives: the current study aimed at investigating the effect of pap on a sprint of less than 40 meters. methods: a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted on the randomized, controlled studies. the search was conducted in several databases (pubmed,web of science, cochrane, and science direct) using the following keywords: “postactivation potentiation”, “sprint”, and “complex training and sprint”. the sprint time data (mean and standard deviation) of the selected studies were analyzed using the openmeta (analyst)® program. data were expressed as weightedmean differences (wmd) between the groups with 95% confidence interval (95% ci). the level of significance was p < 0.05. results: a total of 1859 records were initially identified out of which 15 studies were selected according to the inclusion criteria and included in the current study. the meta-analysis results showed a positive effect of pap on sprint time in the distance 0 to 10 meter (wmd = -0.031 seconds, 95% ci: -0.050, -0.012, p = 0.001), 11 to 20 meter (wmd = -0.048 seconds, 95% ci: -0.089, -0.007, p = 0.021), 21 to 30 meter (wmd = -0.060 seconds, 95% ci: -0.094, -0.026; p < 0.001), and 31 to 40 meter (wmd = -0.109 seconds, 95% ci = -0.141, -0.077, p < 0.001). conclusion: in summary, pap induced positive effects on short sprint performances.