Objectives To investigate the effects of neuromuscular training, with minimal or no equipment, on physical performance of youth athletes. Design Systematic review with meta-analysis. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, PEDro and SportDiscuss from inception to March/2022. Selection Criteria: youth athletes (15-24years), from Olympic team sports; used neuromuscular training 2-3 times/week for, at least, 6 weeks; had a control group/usual training group; physical performance as outcomes; randomized controlled trial. Data Synthesis: Pooled estimate of standardized mean difference (SMD), and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Results Thirty-four studies (1111 participants) were included. Results showed that neuromuscular training improved power (SMD: 0.84 [95%CI: 0.58, 1.10]; n = 805; I^2 = 64%), speed (SMD: -1.12 [95%CI: -1.68, -0.57]; n = 688; I^2 = 90%) and agility (SMD: -1.21 [95%CI: -1.60, -0.83]; n = 571; I^2 = 76%) compared to control group, but showed no difference between groups for muscle strength (Quadriceps SMD: 0.34 [95%CI: -0.02, 0.69]; n = 132; I^2 = 0%, Hamstrings: SMD: 0.64 [95%CI: -0.04, 1.33]; n = 132; I^2 = 71%), balance and flexibility. Conclusion Clinically, neuromuscular training with minimal equipment may be useful for teams with limited resources to improve mainly athletes` power and agility, including those interventions that were designed to injury prevention. Future high-quality studies are likely to change these estimates.
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