Cardiovascular Impact of Lower Body Positive Pressure

Lower body positive pressure: an emerging technology in the battle against knee osteoarthritis?

“…When the air chamber inflates, there is an increase in air pressure around the lower body that lifts the subject upwards at the hips 27,28. This effectively reduces body weight and the gravitational forces about the lower extremity to a level that can be adjusted with a high degree of consistency 28,29. Positive air pressure can then be used to accurately unweight a person by increments as small as 1% body weight and as large as 80% body weight 30.…”

“…LBPP is recognized as being superior to other methods of unweighting (such as an upper body harness that partially supports body weight, or aquatic exercises), because the air pressure is applied uniformly over the lower body, thus reducing the formation of pressure points that are common with harness-based systems,31,32 while maintaining normal muscle activation and gait patterns (which are altered during aquatic-based activities) 28,33,34. As a result, the LBPP treadmill technology is gaining popularity as a device that offers the ability to study weight-supported or low-load exercise in a user-friendly and kinematically correct manner,28,35 without altering gait dynamics28 or cardiovascular parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure 29,36. LBPP trials have so far been reported on several musculoskeletal conditions, including meniscectomy and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction,27 as well as lower limb trauma 37.…”