Myofascial release induces declines in heart rate and changes to microvascular reactivity in young healthy adults.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare physiological responses to myofascial release (MFR) and passive limb movement (PLM).

Design: Nineteen (23 ± 2.6yrs) adults (10 men and 9 women) completed two experiments on separate days: MFR and PLM.

Sex differences in NIRS-derived values of reactive hyperemia persist after experimentally controlling for the ischemic vasodilatory stimulus.

Men and women exhibit different near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) outcomes in response to vascular occlusion tests (VOT), which may be due to phenotypic characteristics or different degrees of desaturation during ischemia. The minimum skeletal muscle tissue oxygenation (StO) observed during a VOT may be the primary determinant of reactive hyperemic (RH) responses. Our purpose was to determine the contribution StO and participant characteristics including adipose tissue thickness (ATT), lean body mass (LBM), muscular strength, and limb circumference to NIRS-derived indexes of RH.

Effects of Sex and Cuff Pressure on Physiological Responses during Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise in Young Adults.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the physiological responses resulting from an acute blood flow restriction resistance exercise bout with two different cuff pressures in young, healthy men and women.

Methods: Thirty adults (18-30 yr) completed a bilateral leg extension blood flow restriction bout consisting of four sets (30-15-15-15 repetitions), with cuffs applied at pressures corresponding to 40% and 60% of the minimum arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) needed to completely collapse the femoral arteries. During each of these conditions (40% and 60% AOP), physiological measures of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and EMG amplitude (EMG AMP) were collected from the dominant or nondominant vastus lateralis.