Long-Term Passive Leg Stretch Improves Systemic Vascular Responsiveness as Much as Single-Leg Exercise Training

Purpose The current study compared the local and systemic vascular responsiveness after small muscle mass endurance training or passive stretching training (PST). Methods Thirty-six sex-matched healthy participants underwent 8-wk single-leg knee extension (SLKE) (n = 12) training or PST (n = 12), or no intervention (control, n = 12). Before and after the intervention, local and systemic vascular responsiveness was assessed by Doppler ultrasound at the femoral (local effect) and brachial artery (systemic effect) during single passive leg movement and brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) test, respectively. Results After training, delta femoral blood flow (representing the local vascular responsiveness) increased after SLKE and PST by +54 (7)% (effect size, 2.72; P
Source: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: APPLIED SCIENCES Source Type: research