The Impact of Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) on Exercise and Hemodynamic Responses
The Impact of Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) on Exercise and Hemodynamic Responses
The impact of blood flow restriction (BFR) on exercise and hemodynamic responses will be studied. The use of BFR will be studied during yoga and low-intensity aerobic exercise in healthy subjects with no history of chronic illness ranging from 18-40 years of age. This study will evaluate several conditions related to cardiovascular physiology in order to determine the safety and efficacy of this type of exercise training. First, the effects of two distinct types of BFR cuffs (BStrong and Hokanson) will be studied during low-intensity aerobic exercise on vascular function. Second, the effect of yoga will be studied with and without the use of BStrong bands on vascular function. Outcome measures include acute effects on endothelial function i.e. flow-mediated dilation, arterial stiffness, beat-by-beat blood pressure, heart rate, RPE (rate of perceived exertion), and blood lactate. For this intervention, the BFR cuffs will be used during exercise to evaluate its safety and efficacy. Since BFR is becoming a widely popular method of exercise, it is important to study its safety and hemodynamic effects.
Participants will be tested a total of 5 times; twice for the yoga portion and thrice for the aerobic exercise (walking) portion. Outcome measures will be consistent across the five visits and will take approximately 2.5 hours to complete. The order of the five separate sessions will be randomized such that the participant cannot expect which condition they will be performing.
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria: