Open AccessEffects of Underwater Arm-Cranking Exercise on Cardiac Autonomic Nervous Activity
Author(s) -
Kumiko Ono,
Hikaru Kuniyoshi,
Yuuki Tanigaki
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
gravitational and space research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2332-7774
DOI - 10.2478/gsr-2013-0004
Subject(s) - heart rate , autonomic nervous system , medicine , heart rate variability , cardiology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , physical therapy , blood pressure
The purpose of this study was to clarify the beneficial effect of an underwater environment on heart rate (HR) and cardiac autonomic nervous activity (HF) during arm-cranking exercise. Ten healthy young men participated in this study. The arm-cranking exercise (40% peakV̇O 2 ) was performed for 10 minutes under two conditions: in water and in air. After the exercise, a recovery phase for 30 seconds followed. Changes in HR, V̇O 2 , and HF did not differ between the conditions. The time constant of the heart rate decay for the first 30 seconds after exercise in the water was less than in air. The results suggest that cardiac parasympathetic nervous activity influences earlier recovery of HR after exercise in water. The results of our study suggest underwater exercise may be applied to wider areas of health management for individuals returning from space travel or sedentary patients in simulated microgravity environments.