Caldwell Jacob T, Fenn Sarah A, Bekkedal Lukas M, Dodge Christopher, Muller-Delp Judy
Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida, United States.
J Appl Physiol (1985). 2023 Oct 1;135(4):786-794. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00427.2023. Epub 2023 Aug 17.
Acute aerobic exercise stress is associated with decreased endothelial function that may increase the likelihood of an acute cardiovascular event. Passive stretch (PS) elicits improvements in vascular function, but whether PS can be performed before exercise to prevent declines in vascular function remains unknown. This strategy could be directly applicable in populations that may not be able to perform dynamic exercise. We hypothesized that preexercise PS would provide better vascular resilience after treadmill exercise. Sixteen healthy college-aged males and females participated in a single laboratory visit and underwent testing to assess micro- and macrovascular function. Participants were randomized into either PS group or sham control group. Intermittent calf PS was performed by having the foot in a splinting device for a 5-min stretch and 5-min relaxation, repeated four times. Then, a staged V̇o peak test was performed and 65% V̇o peak calculated for subjects to run at for 30 min. Near-infrared spectroscopy-derived microvascular responsiveness was preserved with the PS group [(pre: 0.53 ± 0.009%/s) (post: 0.56 ± 0.012%/s; = 0.55)]. However, there was a significant reduction in the sham control group [(pre: 0.67 ± 0.010%/s) (post: 0.51 ± 0.007%/s; = 0.05)] after treadmill exercise. Flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) of the popliteal artery showed similar responses. In the PS group, FMD [(pre: 7.23 ± 0.74%) (post: 5.86 ± 1.01%; = 0.27)] did not significantly decline after exercise. In the sham control group, FMD [(pre: 8.69 ± 0.72%) (post: 5.24 ± 1.24%; < 0.001)] was significantly reduced after treadmill exercise. Vascular function may be more resilient if intermittent PS is performed before moderate-intensity exercise and, importantly, can be performed by most individuals. We demonstrate for the first time that popliteal artery and gastrocnemius microvascular responsiveness after acute aerobic exercise are reduced. The decline in vascular function was mitigated in those who performed intermittent passive stretching before the exercise bouts. Collectively, these findings suggest that intermittent passive stretching is a novel method to increase vascular resiliency before aerobic activity.
急性有氧运动应激与内皮功能下降有关，这可能会增加急性心血管事件的发生可能性。被动拉伸（PS）可改善血管功能，但运动前进行PS是否能预防血管功能下降尚不清楚。该策略可直接应用于无法进行动态运动的人群。我们假设运动前进行PS能在跑步机运动后提供更好的血管弹性。16名健康的大学生男女参加了一次实验室检查，并接受了评估微血管和大血管功能的测试。参与者被随机分为PS组或假对照组。通过将脚置于夹板装置中进行5分钟拉伸和5分钟放松，重复4次来进行间歇性小腿PS。然后，进行分级最大摄氧量测试，并计算出65%最大摄氧量，让受试者以该强度跑步30分钟。PS组近红外光谱法测定的微血管反应性得以保留[（运动前：0.53±0.009%/秒）（运动后：0.56±0.012%/秒；P = 0.55）]。然而，假对照组在跑步机运动后有显著下降[（运动前：0.67±0.010%/秒）（运动后：0.51±0.007%/秒；P = 0.05）]。腘动脉的血流介导的血管舒张（FMD）显示出类似的反应。在PS组中，FMD[（运动前：7.23±0.74%）（运动后：5.86±1.01%；P = 0.27）]在运动后没有显著下降。在假对照组中，FMD[（运动前：8.69±0.72%）（运动后：5.24±1.24%；P < 0.001）]在跑步机运动后显著降低。如果在中等强度运动前进行间歇性PS，血管功能可能更具弹性，重要的是，大多数人都可以进行。我们首次证明急性有氧运动后腘动脉和腓肠肌微血管反应性降低。在运动前进行间歇性被动拉伸的受试者中，血管功能的下降得到缓解。总的来说，这些发现表明间歇性被动拉伸是一种在有氧运动前增加血管弹性的新方法。
