Clin Physiol Funct Imaging, 2013; 33(2): 92-100, PMID: 23383686
Vascular adaptations induced by 6 weeks WBV resistance exercise training.
Year: 2013
Weber T, Beijer A, Rosenberger A, Mulder E, Yang P, Schonau E, Bloch W, Rittweger J
Department of Space Physiology, German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Cologne, Germany. tobias.weber@dlr.de
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The impact of whole-body vibration (WBV) upon the cardiovascular system is receiving increasing attention. Despite numerous studies addressing the acute cardiovascular effects of WBV training, very little is known regarding long-term adaptations in healthy humans. METHODS: A 6-week training study, with a 70 days follow-up was designed to compare resistive exercise with or without super-imposed whole-body vibrations. Arterial diameter, intima media thickness and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) were assessed by ultrasonography in the superficial femoral artery (SFA), the brachial (BA) and the carotid arteries (CA). RESULTS: SFA resting diameter was increased from 6.22 mm (SD = 0.69 mm) at baseline to 6.52 mm (SD = 0.74 mm) at the end of the training period (P = 0.03) with no difference between groups (P = 0.48). Arterial wall thickness was significantly reduced by 4.3% (SD = 11%) in the CA only (P = 0.04). FMD was not affected by any of the interventions and in any of the investigated arteries. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this has been the first study to show that the superposition of vibration upon conventional resistance exercise does not have a specific effect upon long-term vascular adaptation in asymptomatic humans. Our findings seem to be at variance with the findings observed in a bed-rest setting. One possible explanation could be that the independently saturable effects of flow-mediated versus acceleration-related endothelial shear stresses on arterial structure and function differ between ambulatory and bed-rest conditions.Keywords: arterial function; arterial structure; flow-mediated shear stress; gravitational-induced shear stress; resistive vibration exercise
GID: 3133; Last update: 13.03.2013
