Effect of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning on Maximal Exercise Tolerance in Young Adults

Purpose: Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC), induced by repeated bouts of ischemia followed by reperfusion of the arm or leg is a noninvasive strategy to protect a target organ against oxidative stress and injury caused by ischemia and reperfusion. Interestingly, recent evidence suggests that RIPC may also improve exercise performance by increasing maximal oxygen consumption, but such finding remain equivocal. As such, the purpose of the study was to examine the effect of RIPC on exercise performance in healthy individuals. Methods: In a randomized cross-over design, 17 healthy male participants (age, 23±3 years) were exposed to either a sham control (six cycles of 5 minutes bilateral thigh cuff occlusion at 20 mm Hg) or RIPC (six cycles of 5 minutes bilateral thigh cuff occlusion at 180 mm Hg) an hour before a maximal exercise test. We measured maximal oxygen consumption, power output, heat rate, blood pressure, and blood lactate as exercise performance parameters during a maximal exercise test performed on an upright bicycle. Results: Compared with the sham control, RIPC improved maximal oxygen consumption (7.4%, p=0.025) and maximal power output (11.5%, p=0.010), whereas other exercise performance parameters remained unchanged with RIPC (p>0.05). Conclusion: Taken together, the improvements in maximal oxygen consumption and maximal power output induced by RIPC may suggest that RIPC should be considered as a method for improving exercise performance.