Effect of Postactivation Potentiation on Explosive Vertical Jump: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Dobbs, WC, Tolusso, DV, Fedewa, MV, and Esco, MR. Effect of postactivation potentiation on explosive vertical jump: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res 33(7): 2009-2018, 2019-The primary aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to quantify the magnitude of the effect of postactivation potentiation (PAP) on explosive vertical power while accounting for the nesting of multiple effects within each study. This study was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Statement (PRISMA). Original research articles published by January 18, 2018, were located using an electronic search of 4 databases and yielded 759 original publications. Data were extracted and independently coded by 2 authors (W.C.D. and D.V.T.). The standardized mean effect size (ES) was calculated by subtracting the pre-treatment mean from the post-treatment mean and dividing by the pooled SD, adjusting for small sample bias. Multilevel random-effects model was used to aggregate a mean ES and 95% confidence interval (CI) for PAP on vertical jump performance. The cumulative results of 179 effects gathered from 36 studies indicate that PAP does not improve vertical jump performance (ES = 0.08, 95% CI -0.04 to 0.21, p = 0.197), with moderate heterogeneity. Moderator analysis indicated that rest intervals between 3 and 7 minutes provided favorable performance outcomes (ES = 0.18, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.31, p = 0.007). Conversely, rest intervals less than 3 minutes (ES = -0.15, 95% CI -0.31 to 0.01, p = 0.052) or performing isometric contractions (ES = -0.52, 95% CI -0.89 to -0.14, p = 0.007) may be detrimental to performance. Meta-regression indicated that rest interval was the only moderator significantly associated with ES (β = -0.04, 95% CI -0.57 to -0.02, R = 14.31%, p < 0.001). When appropriate PAP guidelines are followed, an increase in vertical jump performance may be achieved.