The effect of water immersion during exercise on cerebral blood flow

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Author
Pugh, Christopher J. A.
Sprung, Victoria
Ono, Kumiko
Spence, Angela
Thijssen, Dick
Carter, Howard
Green, Daniel
Date
2015-02-01Type
Article
Publisher
Wolters Kluwer
ISSN
0195-9131
1530-0315 (online)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
INTRODUCTION:
Regular exercise induces recurrent increases in cerebrovascular perfusion. In peripheral arteries, such episodic increases in perfusion are responsible for improvement in arterial function and health. We examined the hypothesis that exercise during immersion augments cerebral blood flow velocity compared with intensity-matched land-based exercise.
METHODS:
Fifteen normotensive participants were recruited (26 ± 4 yr, 24.3 ± 1.9 kg·m). We continuously assessed mean arterial blood pressure, HR, stroke volume, oxygen consumption, and blood flow velocities through the middle and posterior cerebral arteries before, during, and after 20-min bouts of water- and land-based stepping exercise of matched intensity. The order in which the exercise conditions were performed was randomized between subjects. Water-based exercise was performed in 30°C water to the level of the right atrium.
RESULTS:
The water- and land-based exercise bouts were closely matched for oxygen consumption (13.3 mL·kg·min (95% confidence interval (CI), 12.2-14.6) vs 13.5 mL·kg·min (95% CI, 12.1-14.8), P = 0.89) and HR (95 bpm (95% CI, 90-101) vs 96 bpm (95% CI, 91-102), P = 0.65). Compared with land-based exercise, water-based exercise induced an increase in middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (74 cm·s (95% CI, 66-81) vs 67 cm·s (95% CI, 60-74) P < 0.001), posterior cerebral artery blood flow velocity (47 cm·s (95% CI, 40-53) vs 43 cm·s (95% CI, 37-49), P < 0.001), mean arterial blood pressure (106 mm Hg (95% CI, 100-111) vs 101 mm Hg (95% CI, 95-106), P < 0.001), and partial pressure of expired CO2 (P ≤ 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS:
Our findings suggest that water-based exercise augments cerebral blood flow, relative to land-based exercise of similar intensity, in healthy humans.
Journal/conference proceeding
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise;
Citation
Pugh, C., Sprung, V.S., Ono, K., Spence, A., Thijssen, D.H.J., Carter, H. and Green, D.J. (2015), 'The effect of water immersion during exercise on cerebral blood flow' Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 47(2) pp. 299-306.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10369/9369https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2015/02000/The_Effect_of_Water_Immersion_during_Exercise_on.11.aspx
Description
This article was published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise available at https://dx.doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000422
Collections
- Sport Research Groups [1089]
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