Shannon, Eli Spencer (2022) The Effect of a 2-Week Ischemic Preconditioning Intervention on Anaerobic Performance in Non-Elite Male Soccer Players. Masters thesis, York St John University.

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Abstract

Introduction: Ischemic preconditioning (IPC), brief periods of ischemia immediately followed by reperfusion applied to a vascular bed, has emerged as a method to improve athletic performance across various types of exercise (aerobic and anaerobic). Although there has been a great deal of literature investigating IPC on exercise performance, there is a lack of focus on the effect of repeated episodes of IPC along with measuring anaerobic performance via repeated sprint ability (RSA). IPC has been reported to improve blood flow and enhance endothelial function, which could be mechanisms to explain enhanced RSA performance. The aim of this thesis was to: 1) determine if a 2-week repeated IPC intervention could enhance anaerobic performance in RSA in non-elite soccer players; 2) assess whether improvements in endothelial function is a mechanism explaining any performance enhancement. Methods: Using a randomised, single-blinded crossover design, 8 non-elite male academy soccer players completed two, 2-week intervention trials: six IPC episodes (4 x 5 mins at 220mmHg per episode), and six SHAM episodes (4 x 5 mins at 20mmHg per episode). Prior to and following each intervention trial, participants completed
assessments of anaerobic performance (Running Anaerobic Sprint Test [RAST]), and femoral
artery endothelial function (flow-mediated dilation [FMD]). Results: IPC significantly enhanced peak power output (PPO) in the RAST by 11.30% (p=0.010) and significantly increased femoral artery FMD by 1.72% (p=0.018). Discussion: A 2-week repeated IPC intervention can improve anaerobic performance by means of increased PPO during repeated sprints. The increase in endothelial function following the repeated IPC intervention suggests this may be a mechanism contributing to this enhancement of anaerobic performance. Conclusion: The present study supports the use of repeated IPC prior to matches and training sessions in order to enhance anaerobic performance and encourages coaches to implement the cost-effective method into their teams’ daily schedule.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Status:	Published
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV0557 Sports
School/Department:	School of Science, Technology and Health
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/7463

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