title: The cardiovascular response to passive movement is joint dependent.
abstract: The cardiovascular responses to passive limb movement (PLM) at the knee are well established, however, responses to PLM at other joints involving smaller muscle volume are unknown. To compare the cardiovascular responses to passive movement at other joints, 10 participants underwent a PLM protocol in which the wrist, elbow, ankle, and knee joints were passively extended and flexed at 1 Hz for 1 min. Heart rate (HR), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and arterial blood flow to that limb segment (BF) were measured and vascular conductance (VC) was calculated for a 30-sec baseline period and for 3-sec intervals throughout PLM protocols. PLM of the knee and elbow resulted in significant increases in BF and VC from baseline values with peak values 180% (P < 0.001) greater than baseline. PLM of the elbow resulted in significant increases in BF and VC from baseline values with peak values 109% and 115% (P < 0.001) greater than baseline, respectively. No changes in BF and VC were observed in the ankle and wrist. Furthermore, the greater increase in blood flow per limb segment volume in the thigh and upper arm (62.8 ± 36.5 and 55.5 ± 30.3 mL min(-1) L(-1), respectively) compared to the forearm and lower leg (23.6 ± 16.7 and 19.1 ± 10.3 mL min(-1) L(-1), respectively) indicates the limb volume is not solely responsible for the differences in the hyperemic responses. These data indicate that the use of PLM to assess vascular function or as a rehabilitation modality to maintain vascular health may be most appropriate for the muscles that span the elbow and knee.
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise Physiology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
authors.forename: Keith J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise Physiology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
authors.forename: Brandon S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Pollock
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise Physiology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio jmcdani5@kent.edu.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McDaniel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Blood flow; passive limb movement; transient hyperemic response; vascular health