Abstract
Purpose
Constant blood flow occlusion (BFO) superimposed on aerobic exercise can impair muscle function and exercise tolerance; however, no study has investigated the effect of intermittent BFO on the associated responses. Fourteen participants (n = 7 females) were recruited to compare neuromuscular, perceptual, and cardiorespiratory responses to shorter (5:15s, occlusion-to-release) and longer (10:30s) BFO applied during cycling to task failure.
Methods
In randomized order, participants cycled to task failure (task failure 1) at 70% of peak power output with (i) shorter BFO, (ii) longer BFO, and (iii) no BFO (Control). Upon task failure in the BFO conditions, BFO was removed, and participants continued cycling until a second task failure (task failure 2). Maximum voluntary isometric knee contractions (MVC) and femoral nerve stimuli were performed along with perceptual measures at baseline, task failure 1, and task failure 2. Cardiorespiratory measures were recorded continuously across the exercises.
Results
Task failure 1 was longer in Control than 5:15s and 10:30s (P < 0.001), with no differences between the BFO conditions. At task failure 1, 10:30s elicited a greater decline in twitch force compared to 5:15s and Control (P < 0.001). At task failure 2, twitch force remained lower in 10:30s than Control (P = 0.002). Low-frequency fatigue developed to a greater extent in 10:30s compared to Control and 5:15s (P < 0.047). Dyspnea and Fatigue were greater for Control than 5:15s and 10:30s at the end of task failure 1 (P < 0.002).
Conclusion
Exercise tolerance during BFO is primarily dictated by the decline in muscle contractility and accelerated development of effort and pain.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the participants of this study. This project was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN-439 2020-07075).
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ZM, JZ, and SJA conceived and designed the research. ZM, MY, and SJA conducted experiments. ZM, JZ, MY and NK analyzed the data. ZM, JZ, MY and NK wrote/edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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McClean, Z.J., Zhang, J., Khaledi, N. et al. Intermittent blood flow occlusion modulates neuromuscular, perceptual, and cardiorespiratory determinants of exercise tolerance during cycling. Eur J Appl Physiol 123, 2295–2306 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05242-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05242-z