Small arteries stay stiff for a longer period following vibration exercises in combination with blood flow restriction.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of isometric exercises performed during whole-body vibration (WBV) with and without blood flow restriction (BFR) on arterial elasticity and hemodynamic variables. Eight male subjects performed static upper body (UB) and lower body (LB) exercises on a vibration platform with and without BFR. During BFR sessions, BFR cuffs were placed on the arms or legs and inflated to a target pressure. Exercises consisted of eight 45-s sets for UB, and ten 1-min sets for LB. Arterial elasticity and hemodynamic variables were assessed before, at 10min and 40min postexercise. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to test the mean differences in related variables. A significant condition (BFR versus no-BFR) main effect was detected for small arterial elasticity (P<0·05). For heart rate (HR), there were significant time (P<0·01), condition (P=0·02) and body (P=0·04) main effects during exercise and condition (P<0·04) and time (P<0·01) main effects following exercise. Significantly lower values in systemic vascular resistance were detected at 10min post compared to 40min post (P<0·02) and UB compared to LB (P=0·02). Results showed that small arteries stayed stiffer for a longer period of time after vibration exercises with BFR and BFR placed a greater demand on cardiovascular system. Findings also indicated that the type of exercises performed and/or the measurement location are very important and should be taken into account when examining arterial response.