Circulation Effects

Abstract

Exercise is normally associated with an increased demand for transport of oxygen, carbon dioxide and substrate, thus requiring increases in cardiac output and heart rate. Equally important as the central cardiovascular response is the direction of blood flow towards the working musculature, and the microcirculation herein. Ample evidence indicates that the central cardiovascular demands by whole-body vibration exercise are very moderate, although cardiac output has not yet been measured during whole-body vibration (WBV). This implies that WBV is unlikely to improve aerobic fitness, but that aerobically unfit patients are likely able to perform WBV. With regard to local blood supply and microcirculation in the working musculature, vibration exercise seems to increase blood flow in a dose-specific manner, and it may also induce a short-lasting improvement of tissue oxygenation. However, that effect persists for only approximately 1 minute. Possibly, this effect is of direct mechanical nature. The present knowledge therefore suggests that vibration exercise could have specific merit in patients with disrupted microcirculation, e.g., in diabetic patients, in particular when they have low aerobic fitness.