The Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Intraocular Pressure in Horse

Abstract

The present study was planned to investigate the effect of the intensity of exercise on intraocular pressure (IOP), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glycaemia and blood lactate concentration in regularly trained Italian saddle jumper horses.On the first day five female horses performed 1 h of walking on an electronically controlled horse-walker at 100 m/min; on the second day 1 h session consisted of 5 min of walk, 30 min of trot, 20 min of gallop and one exercise of a 300 m long trail with eight jumps 90 cm high to be run in 1 min. The studied indicators were collected at rest, immediately after the exercise and 30 min after the exercise. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant effect of different workloads on blood lactate concentration, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. No significant difference was found in IOP reduction when comparing aerobic and moderate anaerobic exercise.Our results confirm that the lack of a significant change in IOP in the athletic horse after mild exercise is in accordance with the human athlete. The cardiovascular and haematological changes induced by aerobic and moderate anaerobic exercise had no significant effect on IOP, either.

Correlation between Ocular and Rectal Temperature with Intra Ocular Pressure in Horse during Exercise

“…Many metabolic and physiological changes may occur in the body during exercise [ 24 , 29 ]. The comparison between the left and right eyes showed no differences in terms of both the parameters recorded.…”

“…No statistical effect was found on IOP between the a.m. and p.m. hours, suggesting that IOP is not affected by changes in the thermoregulation system which is activated between morning and afternoon as the body temperature increases after exercise [ 3 , 38 ]. The decrease in IOP observed after physical exercise may be associated with cardiovascular, systemic and hemodynamic adaptations intra- and post-exercise (such as changes in the heart rate, elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure), which may be necessary to ensure the proper supply of oxygen and blood-transported substrates to activate the muscular system during exercise, along with the release of metabolites [ 22 , 24 , 29 ].…”

“…The degree of IOP reduction varies from study to study as a result of different experimental methods, intensities and durations of the workload [ 3 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 29 ]. The intensity of the workload was observed to influence hematological indicators useful in the assessment of the fitness of athletic horses, as well as the aerobic working capacity, the hydration status and the electrolyte balance [ 39 , 40 ].…”

“…There are many controversial opinions about the relationship between physical exercise and decreases in IOP after exercise [ 3 , 21 ]. Some authors have reported that the IOP reduction is directly related to the exercise load [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Numerous studies have shown that daily exercise reduces intraocular pressure (IOP) as it is positively correlated with systemic blood pressure, promoting hypotension.…”

The effect of moderate treadmill exercise on the resistive index of the medial long posterior ciliary artery in dogs

“…Other authors have suggested that the decrease in the IOP during and after dynamic exercising avail it to maintain the constant blood flow in the central retinal artery by increasing the ocular perfusion pressure and moderating the changes in the resistivity indices caused by the exercise (Zhu et al 2018). The highly significant positive correlation between the IOP and RI variations suggests that the IOP is also influenced by the cardiovascular and haematological adaptations necessary to guarantee the correct oxygen and blood-borne substrate supply to activate the muscles during exercise and the release of metabolites (Giudice et al 2010).…”