A. Zelikovski et al., THE EFFECTS OF THE MODIFIED INTERMITTENT SEQUENTIAL PNEUMATIC DEVICE (MISPD) ON EXERCISE PERFORMANCE FOLLOWING AN EXHAUSTIVE EXERCISE BOUT, British journal of sports medicine, 27(4), 1993, pp. 255-259
The Lymphapress, a pneumatic sequential intermittent device is recogni
zed as one of the most effective conservative treatments for lymphoede
ma, due to its effective 'milking mechanism'. This led us to hypothesi
ze that accelerated removal of fatigue-causing metabolites by mechanic
al massage could improve an athlete's performance capacity. We conduct
ed trials with 11 men who exercised at a constant workload, on a cycle
ergometer, until exhaustion. During a 20-min recovery period a new mo
dified pneumatic sequential intermittent device (the MISPD) was applie
d to the subjects' legs. The men then performed a second constant load
exercise bout. Cardiorespiratory parameters were measured during exer
cise and blood was withdrawn during recovery for the determination of
lactate, pyruvate, ammonia, bicarbonate and pH. No difference was foun
d in the blood levels of the 'fatigue causing metabolites' during pass
ive recovery (PR) and recovery with the MISPD (MR). However, the MISPD
effected a 45% improvement in the subjects' ability to perform the su
bsequent exercise bout. The accumulation of fluid in the interstitial
spate after exercise and its disappearance after the use of the MISPD
offers one possible explanation for these results, although psychologi
cal effects cannot be discounted.