Physiologic considerations of therapeutic slideboard rehabilitation with an external loading device.
BACKGROUND
Slideboard exercise is consistent with the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for exercise intensity of 55% to 90% of maximal heart rate or 40% to 85% of maximal oxygen uptake.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if slideboard exercise while in a leg harness increases the metabolic and cardiorespiratory demands.


METHODS
Repeated-measures design.


METHODS
Athletic Training Research Laboratory.


METHODS
Sixteen volunteers from the university community.


METHODS
Subjects performed 2 graded slideboard exercise tests with and without the leg harness, each 2-minute stage ranging from 46 to 90 slides per minute.


METHODS
We measured maximal oxygen uptake, heart rate, blood lactate, respiratory exchange ratio, ratings of perceived exertion, and total time to exhaustion during each session.


RESULTS
Significant decreases in maximal oxygen uptake and blood lactate were observed when the leg harness was used.


CONCLUSIONS
Performance was hindered when subjects wore the leg harness during the slideboard exercise.
Kimura
Iris F
IF
Department of Kinesiology and Leisure Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. ikimura@hawaii.edu
Hetzler
Ronald K
RK
Nakasone
Kenneth T
KT