Disrupting prolonged sitting reduces IL-8 and lower leg swell in active young adults

Evidence suggests that disrupting prolonged bouts of sitting with short bouts of physical activity can significantly reduce blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity; however, limited research is available on the impact of such disruptions on inflammation and swelling. The purpose of this study was to determine whether short bouts of exercise performed each hour during a 4 h sitting session were able to negate the effects of prolonged sitting (PS) on several cardiometabolic outcomes.

Eligible participants (n = 10) attended two laboratory sessions: PS (uninterrupted sitting for 4 h) and disrupted sitting (DS; 4 h sitting session disrupted by 3 min of exercise each hour (60-s warm-up at 50 W, 5 s of unloaded cycling, 20-s sprint at 5% body weight, and 95-s cool-down at 50 W)). The exercise bouts were performed at minute 60, 120, and 180. Blood and saliva samples, and measures of heart rate and blood pressure were assessed before (T1) and after (T2) each session; leg swell was measured continuously.

Concentrations of salivary IL-8 increased during PS (T1: 0.19 ± 0.32; T2: 0.50 ± 1.00 pg/μg of protein) but decreased during DS (T1: 0.41 ± 0.23; T2: 0.22 ± 0.11 pg/μg of protein, d: 0.51, p = 0.002). Leg swell increased and plateaued in PS, but was attenuated during DS.

It appears that short bouts of exercise significantly reduce swelling in the lower leg and IL-8 levels in the saliva, indicating that even among healthy, active, young adults, disrupting prolonged sitting can significantly reduce swelling and systemic inflammation.