Impact of Active Recovery and Whole-Body Electromyostimulation on Blood-Flow and Blood Lactate Removal in Healthy People

Effects of Electrical Stimulation on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS): Evidences from Laboratory and In-Field Studies

Intense, long exercise can increase oxidative stress, leading to higher levels of inflammatory mediators and muscle damage. At the same time, fatigue has been suggested as one of the factors giving rise to delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a specific electrical stimulation (ES) treatment (without elicited muscular contraction) on two different scenarios: in the laboratory on eleven healthy volunteers (56.45 ± 4.87 years) after upper limbs eccentric exercise (Study 1) and in the field on fourteen ultra-endurance athletes (age 47.4 ± 10.2 year) after an ultra-running race (134 km, altitude difference of 10,970 m+) by lower exercising limbs (Study 2). Subjects were randomly assigned to two experimental tasks in cross-over: Active or Sham ES treatments. The ES efficacy was assessed by monitoring the oxy-inflammation status: Reactive Oxygen Species production, total antioxidant capacity, IL-6 cytokine levels, and lactate with micro-invasive measurements (capillary blood, urine) and scales for fatigue and recovery assessments. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found in the time course of recovery and/or pre-post-race between Sham and Active groups in both study conditions. A subjective positive role of sham stimulation (VAS scores for muscle pain assessment) was reported. In conclusion, the effectiveness of ES in treating DOMS and its effects on muscle recovery remain still unclear.

The Effect of Pedal Pump Lymphatic Technique Versus Passive Recovery Following Maximal Exercise: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial

Context

Muscle damage and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) can occur following intense exercise. Various modalities have been studied to improve blood lactate accumulation, which is a primary reason for DOMS. It has been well established that active recovery facilitates blood lactate removal more rapidly that passive recovery due to the pumping action of the muscle. The pedal pump is a manual lymphatic technique used in osteopathic manipulative medicine to increase lymphatic drainage throughout the body. Pedal pump has been shown to increase lymphatic flow and improve immunity. This may improve circulation and improve clearance of metabolites post-exercise.

Objective

This study compared the use of pedal pump lymphatic technique to passive supine recovery following maximal exercise.

Methods

17 subjects (male n = 10, age 23 ± 3.01; female n = 7, age 24 ± 1.8), performed a maximal volume O₂ test (VO₂ max) using a Bruce protocol, followed by a recovery protocol using either pedal pump technique or supine passive rest for 10 min, followed by sitting for 10 min. Outcome measures included blood lactate concentration (BL), heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and VO₂. Subjects returned on another day to repeat the VO₂ max test to perform the other recovery protocol. All outcomes were measured at rest, within 1- minute post-peak exercise, and at minutes 4, 7, 10 and 20 of the recovery protocols. A 2 × 6 repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare outcome measures (p ≤ 0.05).

Results

No significant differences were found in VO₂, HR, or SBP between any of the recovery protocols. There was no significant difference in BL concentrations for recovery at minutes 4, 7, or 10 (p > 0.05). However, the pedal pump recovery displayed significantly lower BL concentrations at minute 20 of recovery (p = 0.04).

Conclusion

The pedal pump significantly decreased blood lactate concentrations following intense exercise at recovery minute 20. The use of manual lymphatic techniques in exercise recovery should be investigated further.

Blood Lactate Decreased by Foam Rolling Post-Quarter Marathon

BACKGROUND: New training methods, increased volume, the prolonged duration could induce the delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS), and it is associated with blood lactate (BL). Foam roller (FR) is known as a tool for active recovery. AIM: The study’s purposes are to assess the effect of the Quarter Marathon (QM) and Foam Roller (FR) on blood lactate (BL). METHODS: This is a pilot study with a quasi-repeated-measures design. Ten trained young males were voluntarily signed up using the purposive sampling technique. The Accutrend-Plus by Roche was used to measure BL. Blood lactate was measured 6 times. Combination FR protocols from the Master of Muscle and Casall were used. Repeated-measures ANOVA test was used to analyze the changes in BL. RESULTS: Blood lactate significantly increased 4.90 ± 3.0 (mmol/L) post-QM as p < 0.05, pre-test 2.23 ± 0.8 (mmol/L) compared to post-running 7.1 ± 2.6 (mmol/L). It was decreased after foam rolling activity 4.33 ± 0.7 (mmol/L), and 3.06 ± 0.5 (mmol/L) at 120 min post-running, then returned to normal after 24 h post-QM 2.44 ± 0.5 (mmol/L). CONCLUSION: Foam rolling potentially decreased BL after QM.