Abstract
BackgroundAnkle exercise has been proven to be an effective intervention to increase venous velocity. However, the efficacy of ankle exercise for improving cerebral circulation has not been determined. We hypothesized that ankle exercise in the supine position would be able to increase oxyhemoglobin levels measured at the forehead.MethodsSeventeen community-dwelling elderly women participated in this study. We recorded blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and oxyhemoglobin (OxyHb) levels from the participants in the supine position. Participants repeated ankle plantar flexion and dorsiflexion movements for 1 min. Two types of exercise were used: active movement and passive movement. We used two-way analysis of variance to assess the differences in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), HR, and OxyHb between different exercises (active and passive) and times (before and after exercise).ResultsThe HR and MAP increased during active exercise but not during passive exercise. On the other hand, the levels of OxyHb measured at the forehead were elevated during both active and passive exercises. This increase lasted at least 1 min after exercise. There was no significant difference between active and passive exercise with regard to OxyHb; however, a significant difference was observed between before and after exercise (p < 0.05, η2G = 0.153).ConclusionsThe physiological response of OxyHb to ankle exercise was different from that of the other cardiovascular functions. Both active and passive ankle exercises were able to increase cerebral blood oxygenation, whereas the other cardiovascular functions did not respond to passive exercise.
Highlights
Ankle exercise has been proven to be an effective intervention to increase venous velocity
With the active ankle exercise, heart rate (HR) was markedly elevated during exercise (2–3 min), whereas there was no change during the passive ankle exercise
At the end of the active ankle exercise, the HR shifted from increasing to decreasing and HR recovered to baseline level for 1 min after the active exercise
Summary
Ankle exercise has been proven to be an effective intervention to increase venous velocity. We hypothesized that ankle exercise in the supine position would be able to increase oxyhemoglobin levels measured at the forehead. A postural change from supine to standing shifts approximately 500–700 ml of blood toward the lower body. This fluid shift causes a temporal decrease in venous return to the heart and a reduction in cardiac output, thereby inducing transient arterial hypotension. This reflex elicits an increase in the heart rate (HR) and total peripheral resistance to maintain a normal blood pressure level [1].
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