402. Biomechanics and Neural Control of Movement - sport biomechanics Scientific Abstract

1050 - Acute Effects Of Practical Blood Flow Restriction On Knee Proprioception During Low Intensity Aerobic Exercise

Session Type
Free Communication/Poster
Session Name
B-73 - Sports Biomechanics
Session Category Text
Biomechanics and Neural Control of Movement
Disclosures
 J. Thistlethwaite: None.

Abstract

Practical blood flow restriction (pBFR) exercise techniques decreases blood flow to targeted muscles while increasing local metabolic accumulation, both of which could impair joint proprioception post-exercise. The impaired proprioception which typically occurs after high intensity aerobic exercise can provide faulty sensory feedback to the brain during movement, resulting in increased risk of injury. Currently, there have been no studies investigating whether pBFR low intensity aerobic exercise has an effect on joint proprioception. PURPOSE: To investigate how low intensity aerobic exercise with pBFR affects knee joint proprioception. METHODS: Fourteen participants (8 males and 6 females) completed 3 sessions. On the first session, participants walked at 5.6 km/h at a 0% grade for two minutes followed by a 2% increase in the incline each minute until 40% of their heart rate reserve was achieved. Participants were familiarized with a “7/10” (moderate tightness) on the perceived tightness scale using elastic knee wraps as well as the position sense and countermovement jumps. On session 2 or 3, participants walked on a treadmill for 15 minutes with or without elastic wraps at 5.6 km/h at the grade determined on the first session. Absolute angular error (AAE) was measured before and immediately after each treadmill walking protocol. Muscle fatigue was determined by changes in average power and peak power measured during countermovement jumps. Change scores were computed for each condition and paired sample t-tests were used to determine differences between pBFR and Control. RESULTS: The change in AAE was not different (pBFR: -1.5 vs. Control degrees: 0.19, p=0.171) between low intensity exercise with and without pBFR [mean difference of -1.73 (-4.3, 0.85) degrees]. The change in peak power was also similar (pBFR: -34.5 vs. Control: 150.1 W, p=0.739) between exercise with and without pBFR [mean difference of -185 (-1358, 988) W]. Similarly, the change in average power (pBFR: 9.1 vs. Control: -3.4 W, p=0.544) was also not different [mean difference of 12.6 (-31.1, 56.2) W]. CONCLUSION: The walking exercise with pBFR did not effect joint proprioception in young adults, suggesting that walking exercise with pBFR might be safely applied without increasing the risk of injury.
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