Effects of upper-limb exercise on lower-limb cutaneous microvascular function in post-surgical varicose-vein patients

Abstract

important factor in optimal exercise prescription for these patients.

Multifractal analysis of laser Doppler flowmetry signals before and after arm-cranking exercise in an older healthy population

“…P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant, while the sample size calculation was undertaken based on our previous work. 7 From Table II we observe that, following exercise, the average width of the multifractal spectra in both lower leg and forearm does not vary significantly before and after last dose of iontophoresis (see cases 1 and 2). Moreover, for forearm, the average width of the multifractal spectra before exercise does not change significantly prior to iontophoresis compared to that after last dose of iontophoresis (see case 3 in Table II).…”

“…It is important, however, to note that our results should not be generalized, and that these findings may only be true for the older, untrained but healthy population that we studied and for the type of exercise that we have chosen for this study. Our previous work, where contradictory findings were observed on the effect of exercise in different populations (see, for example, differences between a patient group in Klonizakis et al 7 and a normal population in Klonizakis and Winter 5 on armcranking exercise), should make us very cautious on their interpretation; indeed, different compensatory mechanisms to preserve heat-induced vasodilatory responses have been suggested for different age-groups by others. 9 It is, therefore, worth undertaking similar studies in clinical populations, different age-groups, and with other forms of exercise to explore the role of NO in the observed changes of perfusion or cutaneous vascular conductance quantities.…”

“…Participants were then asked to perform 30 min of arm-cranking exercise and were exercised at 60%-70% intensity (defined by Day 1 results) in cycles of 2 min exercise at a rate of 50 rpm, followed by 1 min of rest, for a total exercise time of 20 min in a 30 min session, as previously described. 7 After a 10 min supine rest, the iontophoresis protocol was repeated in both areas (e.g., gaiter area and ventral surface of the left forearm) to assess the effects of acute upper-limb exercise on cutaneous microvascular sensitivity to ACh in both upper-and lower-limb. The probes were returned to the skin areas of the initial tests.…”

“…It should be noted, however, that certain patient populations are only affected by other forms of exercise (e.g., varicose veins by treadmill exercise). 7 Despite the positive impact that upper-limb exercise has on our microcirculatory health, the exact mechanisms under which it works remain unknown. Various mechanisms have been suggested to explain the improved endothelial function.…”

Effects of supervised exercise training on lower-limb cutaneous microvascular reactivity in adults with venous ulcers

“…Previous work has shown that lower-limb resistance training can improve calf muscle pump function, ankle range of motion and lower-limb haemodynamics in people with venous ulceration (Kan and Delis 2001 ; Jull et al 2009 ; O’Brien et al 2013 ). Our group has also demonstrated that lower-limb endurance training (Klonizakis et al 2009 ), but not upper-limb endurance training (Klonizakis et al 2010 ), can improve lower-limb cutaneous microvascular reactivity in people who had recently had surgery for varicose veins. However, a recent systematic review concluded that further research is required to determine whether exercise training has a beneficial effect on ulcer healing and health-related quality of life (Yim et al 2015 ).…”