Early leg blood flow adjustment during dynamic foot plantarflexions in upright and supine body position

The time courses of leg blood flow, systolic peak velocity, heart rate and blood pressure have been studied in nine health volunteers during dynamic exercise in upright sitting and in a tilted sitting body position. In both positions the subjects performed single and repeated foot plantarflexions against light and moderate forces corresponding to 5%-10% and 25%-30% of maximal voluntary contraction. The following measurement techniques were used: Doppler ultrasound method (blood flow parameters), FINAPRES device (arterial blood pressure) and standard ECG chest leads (heart rate). At rest the supine blood flow parameters measured in the arteria femoralis were significantly higher than in the upright sitting position. In both positions, even one single plantarflexion at the light exercise intensity caused significant increases in blood flow for almost 20s. The major part of the blood flow response to repeated contractions always occurred within the first 10s at virtually unchanged blood pressures. During this initial phase upright leg blood flow increased by factors of 2.5 (light exercise) and 3.1 (moderate exercise). The corresponding values in the tilted sitting posture were 1.7 and 1.9, respectively. The initial increases in the upright position were too large to be attributed only to the increase of the perfusion pressure caused by the withdrawal of the hydrostatic pressure on the venous side ("muscle pump"). Additional, fast decreases in local resistance have to be considered. In the supine posture effects on local resistance have to be taken into account for the early increases in blood flow since hydrostatic effects on arterio-venous pressure differences are too small. The present findings indicate that the effects of repeated contraction-relaxation cycles on the early adjustment of muscle blood flow are not sufficiently described by a "muscle pump" that induces only venous volume shifts and hydrostatic pressure changes. Additional fast effects on local resistance have to be taken into account.