title: Muscle ischemic preconditioning does not improve performance during self-paced exercise.
abstract: Muscle ischemic preconditioning (IP) has been found to improve exercise performance in laboratory tests. This investigation aims at verifying whether performance is improved by IP during self-paced exercise (SPE) in the field. 11 well-trained male runners performed 3 randomly assigned 5 000 m self-paced running tests on an outdoor track. One was the reference (RT) test, while the others were performed following muscle IP (IPT) and a control sham test (ST). Average speeds were measured during each test. Mean values in oxygen uptake (VO2), aerobic energy cost (AEC) during race and post-race blood lactate (BLa) were gathered. Data showed that none of the studied variables were affected by IPT or ST with respect to the RT test. Average speeds were 4.63±0.31, 4.62±0.31 and 4.60±0.25 m·s(-1) for the RT, the ST and the IPT tests, respectively. Moreover, there was no difference among tests in speed reached during each lap. VO2 was 3.5±0.69, 3.74±0.85 and 3.62±1.19 l·min(-1). AEC was 1.04±0.15, 1.08±0.1 and 1.09±0.15 kcal·kg(-1)·km(-1). Finally, post-race BLa levels reached 12.85±3.54, 11.88±4.74 and 12.82±3.6 mmol·l(-1). These findings indicate that performance during SPE is not ameliorated by ischemic preconditioning, thereby indicating that IP is not suitable as an ergogenic aid.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tocco
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marongiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ghiani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sanna
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palazzolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Olla
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pusceddu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sanna
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Corona
authors.affiliation: Physiology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Concu
authors.affiliation: Science Applied to Biological Systems, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crisafulli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000097:blood; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005080:Exercise Test; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D019194:Ischemic Preconditioning; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000098:blood supply*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D012119:Respiration; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D019344:Lactic Acid; D010100:Oxygen