Cardiovascular and Muscular Response to NO LOAD Exercise with Blood Flow Restriction

Changes in muscle thickness (MT), isometric torque, and arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) were examined following four sets of twenty unilateral elbow flexion exercise. Participants performed four sets of maximal voluntary contractions with no external load throughout a full range of motion of a bicep curl with and without the application of blood flow restriction (BFR). For torque there was an interaction (p = 0.012). The BFR condition had lower torque following exercise (56.07 ± 17.78 Nm) compared to the control condition (58.67 ± 19.06 Nm). For MT, there was a main effect for time (p < 0.001). MT increased from pre (3.52 ± .78cm) to post (3.68 ± 81cm) exercise and remained increased above baseline 15 min post-exercise. For AOP, there was an interaction (p = 0.027). The change in AOP was greater in the BFR condition (16.6 ± 13.42mmHg) compared to the control (11.1 ± 11.84 mmHg). NO LOAD exercise with BFR let to greater reductions in torque and an exaggerated cardiovascular response compared to exercise alone. There were no differences in swelling. These results suggest that the application of BFR to NO LOAD exercise may result in greater fatigue.