Reducing Thrombotic Risks in Video Gamers: Investigating the Benefits of Walking and Compression Sleeves on Blood Hemodynamics

This study aimed to compare lower leg graduated compression sleeves and a 6-minute walking break during prolonged gaming on blood flow and hemodynamics in competitive esport players to help mitigate this risk. Ten healthy gamers (19.6 ±1.2y, 9 men) consented to participate in this mixed-model cross-over design study that consisted of three visits: Visit 1: participants engaged in continuous 2-hour video game play wearing no compression (Continuous). Visit 2 and 3 involved 2-hour play wearing compression sleeves (Compression), and 2-hour game play interrupted at 1-hour by a 6-minute walk (Walk). Doppler ultrasound measurements of the left popliteal artery were taken at 30, 60, 90 120-minutes, to record vessel diameter, blood flow velocity, and blood flow volume. Participants completed a survey to assess their perception of each approach. There was a significant interaction between condition for blood flow and blood velocity (p=0.01, p<0.001). Post hoc analysis demonstrated a greater decrease in blood flow and blood velocity in the Continuous group compared to the Walk group at the 90-minute mark (p=0.04, p=0.01). No differences were found between the Compression and Walk group or the Continuous and Compression group (p=0.42; p=0.69). No interactions were observed in diameter, mean arterial pressure, or heart rate. This study suggests that incorporating a 6-minute walk every 60 minutes during prolonged gaming is advisable to counteract the negative effects on blood flow hem...
Source: American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology - Category: Physiology Authors: Source Type: research