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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1515412
This article is part of the Research Topic Impact of Blood Flow Restriction Device Features and Methodological Considerations on Acute- and Longitudinal Responses to Blood Flow Restricted Exercise View all 8 articles
Autonomic Modulation and Skeletal Muscle Oxygenation with Intermittent Low-Load Blood Flow Restriction Knee Extension
Provisionally accepted- 1 North Dakota State University, Fargo, United States
- 2 Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota, United States
Introduction: This investigation determined if an acute bout of low-load knee extension (KE) with intermittent blood flow restriction (BFR) influenced autonomic modulation and skeletal muscle oxygenation (SmO2%). Methods: Fourteen physically active males completed three different sessions: one-repetition maximum (1RM), KE with BFR (BFR-KE) at 20% 1RM (cuff pressure=143 ± 13 mmHg), and KE with free blood flow at 20% 1RM (Control-KE). Heart rate variability (HRV) metrics: logarithmically transformed (ln) square root of the mean differences of successive R-R intervals (lnRMSSD), high frequency power (lnHF), and low frequency power (lnLF), as well as SmO2%, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured. Repeated measures analyses of variance were used to analyze HRV metrics and SmO2%, while a paired ttest was used to analyze RPE. A significance level of P < 0.05 was used for analyses. Results:From baseline to 15 minutes post-exercise lnRMSSD decreased in both BFR-KE and Control-KE (4.34 ± 0.43 to 3.75 ± 0.82 ms, P=0.027). Thereafter, lnRMSSD (+7%), lnHF (+8%), and lnLF (+7%) increased from 15 to 30 minutes post-exercise in both BFR-KE and Control-KE (P < 0.05). BFR-KE reduced SmO2% in the vastus lateralis compared to Control-KE (36% vs 53%; P<0.001). RPE was greater in BFR-KE (7.0 AU) compared to Control-KE (4.5 AU; P < 0.001).Unilateral BFR exercise with individualized cuff pressure and intermittent application facilitated greater localized muscular stress and perceptual effort, but there was no influence of vascular occlusion on post-exercise autonomic modulation compared to volume matched exercise with free blood flow.
Keywords: Blood flow restriction, autonomic modulation, Heart rate variability, skeletal muscle oxygenation, Resistance exercise
Received: 22 Oct 2024; Accepted: 20 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Garner, Fanno, McGrath, Erickson and Hackney. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Kyle J Hackney, North Dakota State University, Fargo, United States
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