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low oxidative demand and muscular adaptations accompanying eccentric
exercise hold benefits for both healthy and clinical populations.
Compression garments have been suggested to reduce muscle damage and
maintain muscle function. This study investigated whether compression
garments could benefit metabolic recovery from eccentric exercise.
Following 30-min of downhill walking participants wore compression
garments on one leg (COMP), the other leg was used as an internal,
untreated control (CONT). The muscle metabolites phosphomonoester
(PME), phosphodiester (PDE), phosphocreatine (PCr), inorganic phosphate
(Pi) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were evaluated at baseline,
1-h and 48-h after eccentric exercise using 31P-magnetic
resonance spectroscopy. Subjective reports of muscle soreness were
recorded at all time points. The pressure of the garment against the
thigh was assessed at 1-h and 48-h following exercise. There was a
significant increase in perceived muscle soreness from baseline in
both the control (CONT) and compression (COMP) leg at 1-h and 48-h
following eccentric exercise (p < 0.05). Relative to baseline,
both CONT and COMP showed reduced pH at 1-h (p < 0.05). There was
no difference between CONT and COMP pH at 1-h. COMP legs exhibited
significantly (p < 0.05) elevated skeletal muscle PDE 1-h following
exercise. There was no significant change in PCr/Pi, Mg2+
or PME at any time point or between CONT and COMP legs. Eccentric
exercise causes disruption of pH control in skeletal muscle but does
not cause disruption to cellular control of free energy. Compression
garments may alter potential indices of the repair processes accompanying
structural damage to the skeletal muscle following eccentric exercise
allowing a faster cellular repair.
KEY
WORDS: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy, muscle damage, muscle
metabolism, rehabilitation.
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