Research
Adherence
KAATSU training is generally safe for athletes and healthy individuals, with severe side effects (venous thrombus, pulmonary embolism, rhabdomyolysis) occurring at very low rates (<0.1%).
KAATSU training is considered safe for most people, including the elderly and those with certain chronic conditions. While minor side effects like bruising or numbness can occur, severe complications like blood clots are extremely rare. Always follow instructions from qualified instructors to minimize risks.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The incidence of side effects was as follows; venous thrombus (0.055%), pulmonary embolism (0.008%) and rhabdomyolysis (0.008%). These results indicate that the KAATSU training is a safe and promising method for training athletes and healthy persons...
Why this rating
Survey data from 105 facilities, self-reported side effects.
Source
Use and safety of KAATSU training:Results of a national survey
Toshiaki Nakajima et al. · International Journal of KAATSU Training Research · 2006
DOI 10.3806/ijktr.2.5
cross_sectional · n=12642Cited 281×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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