Body temperature, oxygen uptake and heart rate during walking in water and on land at an exercise intensity based on RPE in elderly men

Effect of 12 weeks of aquatic strength training on individuals with multiple sclerosis

ANTECEDENTES

Programas de exercícios físicos são recomendados para pacientes com esclerose múltipla. No entanto, são limitados os estudos que envolvem o treinamento aquático de força para a melhoria das capacidades funcionais.

OBJETIVO

Investigar o efeito de um programa de treinamento aquático de força nas capacidades funcionais e nos níveis de força e fadiga de pessoas diagnosticadas com esclerose múltipla.

MÉTODOS

Foram selecionados 29 voluntários com esclerose múltipla. Todos os participantes realizaram uma bateria de testes, incluindo os de capacidades funcionais, nível de força e níveis de fadiga em dois momentos distintos: pré-intervenção e pós-intervenção. O programa de treinamento de força foi realizado durante 12 semanas. Foram utilizados exercícios de força localizados, com controle específico de carga de trabalho, que variou entre 50 e 90% do máximo, de acordo com a semana de treinamento. Para a análise estatística, optou-se por utilizar o teste t de Student na comparação ente os momentos pré- e pós-intervenção.

RESULTADOS

Os resultados demonstraram melhora significativa em todas as variáveis investigadas: teste de 6 min de caminhada (p=0,00); força mão dominante (p=0,02); força mão não dominante (p=0,00); levantar (p=0,00); sentar e levantar-se (p=0,00); subir 15 degraus (p=0,00); descer 15 degraus (p=0,00); calçar meias (p=0,00); gravidade da fadiga (p=0,01); impacto da fadiga (p=0,01).

CONCLUSÃO

O treinamento aquático de força foi eficiente para melhorar as capacidades funcionais relacionadas à qualidade de vida de pacientes com esclerose múltipla.

Kinematic analysis of gait in an underwater treadmill using land-based Vicon T 40s motion capture cameras arranged externally

Aquatic therapy for rehabilitation can be performed in a variety of environments, which can vary from a traditional swimming pool to a self-contained underwater treadmill. While kinematic analysis has been performed in large volume swimming pools using specific underwater motion capture systems, researchers may only have access to a land-based motion-capture system, which is not waterproof. Additionally, underwater motion capture systems may not fit within the confines of a smaller underwater treadmill. Thus, the purpose of this study was to design and analyze methodology to quantify lower limb kinematics during an aquatic treadmill session, using a land-based motion capture system. Kinematics of lower limb motion at different speeds was studied while walking on an underwater treadmill in comparison to walking on the same treadmill without water (empty tank). The effects of the presence of water on walking kinematics was analyzed and interpreted using parametric and non-parametric testing procedures. The results suggest significant influences of speed on knee and ankle angles (p < 0.05) in both dryland and aquatic scenarios. Knee and ankle angle measures revealed no significant differences between the dryland and water treadmill scenarios (p > 0.05). The increased time requirement in water for the full gait cycle found in this study indicates influence of resistive effects. This finding can be especially suited for muscle strengthening and stabilizing treatments for lower limbs. Also, a framework was developed to realize a potential methodology to use land-based motion capture cameras to successfully analyze the kinematics of gait in constrained aquatic volumes.

Effect of Underwater Treadmill Gait Training With Water-Jet Resistance on Balance and Gait Ability in Patients With Chronic Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of underwater treadmill gait training with water-jet resistance and underwater treadmill gait training with ankle weights on balance and gait abilities in chronic stroke patients.

Methods: Twenty-two inpatients and outpatients with stroke-induced impairments were randomly assigned into two groups: an underwater treadmill gait training with water-jet resistance group (n = 11) and an underwater treadmill gait training with ankle weights group (n = 11). Participants received conventional physical therapy for 30 min and underwater treadmill gait training with water-jet resistance or ankle weights for 30 min. Intervention was performed 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The Balance System SD was used to assess static and dynamic balance. The GAITRite system was used to assess gait velocity, cadence, step length, stride length, and swing phase. All measurements were performed at the beginning of the study and 4 weeks after the intervention.

Results: The water-jet resistance group and ankle weights group showed significant improvement in static balance (P < 0.00 vs. P = 0.01), dynamic balance (P < 0.00 vs. P = 0.57), gait velocity (P < 0.00 vs. P = 0.037), cadence (P < 0.00 vs. P = 0.001), step length (P < 0.00 vs. P = 0.003), stride length (P < 0.00 vs. P = 0.023), and swing phase (P < 0.00 vs. P < 0.00). However, the static and dynamic balance ability score (P < 0.00), gait velocity (P < 0.00), cadence (P < 0.00), step length (P < 0.00), stride length (P < 0.00), and swing phase (P = 0.023) in the group that received underwater treadmill gait training with water-jet resistance improved more than in the group that received underwater treadmill gait training with ankle weights.

Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that underwater treadmill gait training with water-jet resistance is effective in improving static and dynamic balance as well as gait abilities in chronic stroke patients. Thus, training using underwater treadmill gait training with water-jet resistance may be useful in facilitating active rehabilitation in chronic stroke patients.

Metabolic and cardiovascular responses during aquatic exercise in water at different temperatures in older adults

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological responses during upper-body aquatic exercises in older adults with different pool temperatures.

METHOD

Eleven older men (aged 65 years and older) underwent 2 identical aquatic exercise sessions that consisted of 3 upper-body exercises using progressive intensities (30, 35, and 40 metronome beat · min(- 1)) on separate visits. Water temperatures for the visits were 28°C (cold water [CW]) and 36°C (hot water [HW]), and water depth ranged from 1.2 m to 1.4 m. Measurements for heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), oxygen consumption (VO2), and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were compared between the CW and HW conditions.

RESULTS

The comparison between temperatures showed a higher HR response during exercise in HW, particularly when participants exercised at the highest intensities. During a 30-min postexercise period in resting conditions, HR was statistically significantly higher for the HW condition compared with the CW condition, with a large effect size (15.9%, d = 1.23). Systolic and diastolic BPs were found to be lower for the HW condition ( - 7.2%, d = - 0.60; - 10.1%, d = - 0.65), while VO2 and RPE showed no differences. The effect size between double products (HR · systolic BP) for the 2 conditions was small (CW = 8,649 ± 1,287, HW = 9,340 ± 1,672; d = 0.36), suggesting similar myocardial oxygen requirements.

CONCLUSION

This study showed that HR response was higher in an HW condition for older men. Warmer environments may add additional stressors to the body, which may impact training strategies and should be considered when estimating the effort of performing aquatic exercise.

The effects of landed and aquatic treadmill walking at moderate intensity on heart rate, energy expenditure and catecholamine

PURPOSE

The present study was to examine whether or not the appropriate exercise intensity of water-walking could be accurately prescribed by land-based walking speed.

METHODS

Using a crossover design, nine healthy male college students completed bouts of walking for thirty minutes at 100m/min, 50m/min, respectively, on land and water treadmills. Heart rate (HR), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), energy expenditure, blood lactic acid and catecholamine concentration were measured. Two-way repeated measured ANOVA was used with the SPSS program for data analysis.

RESULTS

HR (P < 0.001), RPE (P < 0.001), energy expenditure (P < 0.001), blood lactic acid (P < 0.001) and epinephrine concentration (P < 0.05) were significantly increased during walking both in water and on land. The change of HR was significantly lower at 50min/m in water than 100min/m on land (P < 0.01). There were no significant interaction effects for RPE, energy expenditure, blood lactic acid and catecholamine concentration, but these variables were slightly lower in water than on land. These results indicated that the use of land walking speed-based prescriptive norms would underestimate the physiological cost in water walking at the moderate intensity.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, approximately two-half of the speed would be needed to walk in water in order to obtain the same level of physiological load as during treadmill walking at the moderate intensity.

Comparação do índice de esforço percebido e consumo de oxigênio em exercício em cicloergômetro entre gestantes e não-gestantes e entre o exercício aquático e terrestre

O objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar o índice de esforço percebido (IEP) e o consumo de oxigênio (VO2) durante o exercício aquático e terrestre, na intensidade do primeiro limiar ventilatório entre gestantes e não-gestantes. Sete gestantes (idade gestacional entre 27ª e 30ª semanas) e sete não-gestantes realizaram dois testes contínuos em cicloergômetro (água e terra) na intensidade do primeiro limiar ventilatório. Durante os testes, os gases respiratórios foram coletados com um analisador de gases portátil KB1-C da marca Aerosport. A frequência cardíaca (FC) foi obtida através de um Polar modelo F1. Os dados foram coletados a cada 20s. O IEP era indicado ao término do exercício através da escala RPE de Borg (6-20). Utilizou-se ANOVA para medidas repetidas de 1 FATOR, com post hoc de Bonferroni (p < 0,05). Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas para o VO2 e para o IEP comparando os exercícios aquático e terrestre. Além disso, não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre gestantes e não-gestantes. Concluímos que o IEP pode ser usado para prescrição do exercício aquático e terrestre e para gestantes e não-gestantes, quando este for realizado na intensidade do primeiro limiar ventilatório e em cicloergômetro.

Comparison of physiological and perceptual responses between continuous and intermittent cycling

The present study tested the hypothesis that the exercise protocol (continuous vs. intermittent) would affect the physiological response and the perception of effort during aquatic cycling. Each protocol was divided on four stages. Heart rate, arterial blood pressure, blood lactate concentration, central and peripheral rate of perceived exertion were collected in both protocols in aquatic cycling in 10 women (values are mean ± SD): age=32.8 ± 4.8 years; height=1.62 ± 0.05 cm; body mass=61.60 ± 5.19 kg; estimated body fat=27.13 ± 4.92%. Protocols were compared through two way ANOVA with Scheffé’s post-hoc test and the test of Mann- Whitney for rate of perceived exertion with α=0.05. No systematic and consistent differences in heart rate, arterial blood pressure, double product and blood lactate concentration were found between protocols. On the other hand, central rate of perceived exertion was significantly higher at stage four during continuous protocol compared with intermittent protocol (p=0.01), while the peripheral rate of perceived exertion presented higher values at stages three (p=0.02) and four (p=0.00) in the continuous protocol when compared to the results found in intermittent protocol. These findings suggest that although the aquatic cycling induces similar physiologic demands in both protocols, the rate of perceived exertion may vary according to the continuous vs. intermittent nature of the exercise.

VO2 prediction and cardiorespiratory responses during underwater treadmill exercise

We compared cardiorespiratory responses to exercise on an underwater treadmill (UTM) and land treadmill (LTM) and derived an equation to estimate oxygen consumption (VO2) during UTM exercise. Fifty-five men and women completed one LTM and five UTM exercise sessions on separate days. The UTM sessions consisted of chest-deep immersion, with 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% water-jet resistance. All session treadmill velocities increased every 3 min from 53.6 to 187.8 m x min(-1). Cardiorespiratory responses were similar between LTM and UTM when jet resistance for UTM was 50%. Using multiple regression analysis, weight-relative VO2 could be estimated as: VO2 (mLO2 c kg(-1) x min(-1)) = 0.19248 x height (cm) + 0.17422 x jet resistance (% max) + 0.14092 x velocity (m x min(-1)) -0.12794 x weight (kg)-27.82849, R2 = .82. Our data indicate that similar LTM and UTM cardiorespiratory responses are achievable, and we provide a reasonable estimate of UTM VO2.

The relative cost of bent-hip bent-knee walking is reduced in water

The debate about how early hominids walked may be characterised as two competing hypotheses: They moved with a fully upright (FU) gait, like modern humans, or with a bent-hip, bent-knee (BK) gait, like apes. Both have assumed that this bipedalism was almost exclusively on land, in trees or a combination of the two. Recent findings favoured the FU hypothesis by showing that the BK gait is 50-60% more energetically costly than a FU human gait on land. We confirm these findings but show that in water this cost differential is markedly reduced, especially in deeper water, at slower speeds and with greater knee flexion. These data suggest that the controversy about australopithecine locomotion may be eased if it is assumed that wading was a component of their locomotor repertoire and supports the idea that shallow water might have been an environment favourable to the evolution of early forms of "non-optimal" hominid bipedalism.

Water Exercise in Patients With and Without Cardiovascular Disease: Benefits, Rationale, Safety, and Prescriptive Guidelines

Research regarding the benefits of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation is extensive and well documented. Water exercise, in the form of stretching, walking, jogging, aerobics, strength and balance training, and swimming, provides an attractive alternative from traditional land-based exercise for achieving improved health and fitness. Patients with orthopedic or musculoskeletal limitations, pulmonary disease, excess adiposity, and other medical conditions may significantly benefit from a water-based exercise program. Although water exercise is beneficial for varied patient populations, the safety and appropriateness of higher intensity activities such as swimming should be considered. Because coronary patients have a reduced ability to identify ischemic symptoms in water, water exercise should be prescribed with caution in high-risk patients, individuals with limited swimming skills, and those with significant left ventricular dysfunction. Furthermore, the acute physiological responses during water submersion and exercise may vary considerably from land-based activity and require attention when prescribing a water-based exercise program for patients with and without coronary artery disease.

Caminhada em ambiente aquático e terrestre: revisão de literatura sobre a comparação das respostas neuromusculares e cardiorrespiratórias

O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão de literatura sobre a comparação das respostas neuromusculares e cardiorrespiratórias durante a caminhada em meio aquático e em meio terrestre. As respostas foram apresentadas para a caminhada em piscina rasa e para a caminhada em piscina funda. Em relação à caminhada em piscina rasa, as respostas neuromusculares (sinal EMG) e cardiorrespiratórias (FC e VO2) são muito dependentes da velocidade do exercício. As respostas neuromusculares podem ser menores no meio aquático quando a velocidade da caminhada é menor nesse ambiente. Por outro lado, quando o exercício é realizado com velocidades similares, a atividade dos músculos propulsores pode ser superior durante a caminhada aquática. Da mesma forma, respostas cardiorrespiratórias maiores são registradas no exercício aquático quando velocidades similares de caminhada são utilizadas. Contudo, com velocidades menores, essas respostas são semelhantes ou menores que as encontradas em meio terrestre. No que diz respeito à caminhada em piscina funda, as respostas neuromusculares diferem daquelas encontradas durante a caminhada em meio terrestre devido à ausência das forças de reação com o solo. Essa característica possivelmente modifica os músculos envolvidos na produção de força propulsiva nesse exercício. Além do mais, durante a caminhada em piscina funda, as respostas cardiorrespiratórias parecem sempre mais baixas devido à grande redução no peso hidrostático e à menor atividade dos músculos posturais e pela utilização do cinturão flutuador nessa modalidade.

Lower Extremity Muscle Activity during Different Types and Speeds of Underwater Movement

To compare the activity of lower extremity muscles during land walking (LW), water walking (WW), and deep-water running (DWR), 9 healthy young subjects were tested at self-selected low, moderate, and high intensities for 8 sec with two repetitions. Surface EMG electrodes were placed on the tibialis anterior (TA), soleus (SOL), medial gastrocnemius (GAS), rectus femoris (RF), and biceps femoris (BF). During DWR, the SOL and GAS activities were lower than LW and WW. The BF activities were higher during DWR than LW and WW. It was considered that the lower activity of SOL and GAS depended on water depth, and higher activity of BF occurred by greater flexion of the knee joint or extension of the hip joint during exercise.

Corrida em piscina funda: limites e possibilidades para o alto desempenho

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os limites e possibilidades da utilização da corrida em piscina funda no treinamento de corredores de rendimento. Além disso, são discutidas as respostas agudas submáximas, máximas e crônicas, do ponto de vista fisiológico e biomecânico entre a corrida em terra e em piscina funda. As respostas máximas de freqüência cardíaca e consumo de oxigênio são menores no exercício aquático do que na corrida terrestre. Dados experimentais sugerem o uso do treinamento de corrida em piscina funda para corredores de rendimento; contudo, essas evidências são limitadas para treinamentos de até 10 semanas.

Electromyographic Analysis of Walking in Water in Healthy Humans

This study was designed to describe and clarify muscle activities which occur while walking in water. Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to evaluate muscle activities in six healthy subjects (mean age, 23.3 +/- 1.4 years) while they walked on a treadmill in water (with or without a water current) immersed to the level of the xiphoid process, and while they walked on a treadmill on dry land. The trials in water utilized the Flowmill which has a treadmill at the base of a water flume. Integrated EMG analysis was conducted for the quantification of muscle activities. In order to calculate the %MVC, the measurement of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of each muscle was made before the gait analysis, thus facilitating a comparison of muscle activities while walking in water with those on dry land. The %MVCs obtained from each of the tested muscles while walking in water, both with and without a water current, were all found to be lower than those obtained while walking on dry land at a level of heart rate response similar to that used when walking on dry land. Furthermore, the %MVCs while walking in water with a water current tended to be greater when compared to those while walking in water without a water current. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that muscle activities while walking in water were significantly decreased when compared to muscle activities while walking on dry land, that muscle activities while walking in water tended to be greater with a water current than without, and that the magnitude of the muscle activity in water was relatively small in healthy humans. This information is important to design water-based exercise programs that can be safely applied for rehabilitative and recreational purposes.