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Updated: May 10, 2026

Doppler Ultrasound-Based Leg Blood Flow Assessment During Single-Leg Knee-Extensor Exercise in an Uncontrolled Setting
Published on: December 15, 2023
Effects of Vibration on Leg Blood Flow After Intense Exercise and Its Influence on Subsequent Exercise Performance
Borja Sañudo1, Manuel César-Castillo, Sergio Tejero
11Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Seville, Seville, Spain; 2Virgen del Rocío Hospital, Seville, Spain; 3Department of Physiotherapy, University of Seville, Seville, Spain; and 4Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.
Abstract:
This study aimed to determine the effects of vibration on leg blood flow after intense exercise and find out whether or not these effects can influence subsequent maximal exercise performance. Twenty-three participants performed an exercise test-to-exhaustion followed by a recovery period using six 1-minute sets of whole-body vibration (WBV; 25 Hz-4 mm) or a passive control (noWBV; 0 Hz-0 mm) in the seated position on separate days in random order. Blood flow was assessed at baseline and during each 1-minute interset rest periods post-WBV and noWBV. Thereafter, participants performed a cycle-ergometer test, and time to exhaustion and total distance covered (TDC) were recorded. During recovery, a similar trend was observed in both systolic and diastolic peak frequency dynamics in both conditions. The pulsatility index decreased (p < 0.01) from baseline during postbout 1 in both trials and during post-4 and post-5 in the WBV trial. Significant between-group differences were observed during post-4 (p ≤ 0.05) with greater decreases in pulsatility index after WBV compared with noWBV. Time to exhaustion and TDC were higher after WBV compared with noWBV. In conclusion, WBV decreased pulsatility index in the popliteal artery after maximal exercise and was effective to increase performance in a later exercise test-to-exhaustion.
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