Effect of Lower Limb Compression (normatec) on Glycogen Resynthesis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pneumatic compression pants on post-exercise glycogen resynthesis. Active male subjects (n=10) completed two trials consisting of a 90-minute glycogen depleting ride, followed by 4 hours of recovery with either a pneumatic compression device (PCD) or passive recovery (PR) in a random counterbalanced order. A carbohydrate beverage (1.8 gkg bodyweight) was provided at 0 and 2 hours post exercise. Muscle biopsies (vastus lateralis) were obtained immediately and 4 hours post exercise for glycogen analyses. Blood samples were collected throughout recovery to measure glucose and insulin. Eight finger stick blood samples for lactate were collected in the last 20 minutes of the exercise period and during the initial portion of the recovery period. Heart rate was monitored throughout the entire trial. During the PCD trial subjects recovered using a commercially available recovery device (NormaTec PCD, Newton Center, MA) operational at 060 and 120-180 min into recovery period. The same PCD was worn during the passive recovery trial but was not turned on to create pulsatile pressures. Muscle glycogen increased similarly over the recovery period for both trials (6.9 ± 0.8 and 6.9 ± 0.5 mmol·kg wet wt.·hr for the PR and PCD trials, respectively) additionally, blood glucose, insulin, and lactate concentrations changed in respect to time but were not different between trials (p>0.05). The use of PCD did not alter the rate of muscle glycogen resynthesis, blood lactate and the blood glucose and insulin concentrations associated with a post exercise oral glucose load.