Effects Of Wearing A Novel Full-Body Compression Garment On Heart Rate Variability Following Anaerobic Exercise

Donning lower body graduated compression garments (CG) after exercise counteracts deleterious effects of overtraining and attenuates negative effects on heart rate variability (HRV). However, it is unknown if a novel full-body CG has similar effects on HRV. PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that wearing CG during recovery following anaerobic exercise has a positive effect on HRV. METHODS: Ten healthy adults (age: 21 ± 2 y; BMI: 24 ± 2 kg/m2) completed three randomized visits: one where CG was not worn (CT), one where CG was worn during recovery (RC), and one where CG was worn the entire visit (CG). Baseline (BL) values were recorded after 10 minutes of supine rest. Subjects then completed a Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) where they cycled against 7.5% of their body weight for 30 seconds. After the WAnT, subjects recovered in the supine position for 15 minutes (R1) during which heart rate (HR), R-R interval (RR), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), and high frequency (HF) were recorded. Immediately following R1, a second WAnT, the same recovery procedure (R2), and subsequent data collection was repeated. HRV values were gathered using photoplethysmography from a validated smartphone application. Data were analyzed via a two-way repeated measures ANOVA and are presented as a change from BL. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences for change in HR (p = 0.33) between CT (R1: 13 ± 26, R2: 22 ± 24 bpm), RC (R1: 23 ± 32, R2: 36 ± 13 bpm), and CG (R1: 28 ± 18, R2: 32 ± 18 bpm). There were also no statistical differences for change in RR (p = 0.45) between CT (R1: -179 ± 224, R2: -249 ± 199 ms), RC (R1: -295 ± 152, R2: -329 ± 141 ms), and CG (R1: -265 ± 175, R2: -293 ± 169 ms). Furthermore, there were no statistical differences for change in RMSSD (p = 0.85) between CT (R1:-55 ± 113, R2: -67 ± 71 ms), RC (R1: -44 ± 25, R2: -48 ± 26 ms), and CG (R1:-52 ± 42, R2: -62 ± 66 ms). Lastly, there were no statistical differences for change in HF (p = 0.94) between CT (R1: -881 ± 9946, R2: -2876 ± 5516 ms2), RC (R1: -1157 ± 1205, R2: -1204 ± 1184 ms2), and CG (R1: -1176 ± 2614, R2: -2155 ± 2397 ms2). CONCLUSION: There were no statistical differences between CT, RC, or CG for HRV. Thus, based on 15-minute recovery data, it does not appear that wearing this novel CG enhances recovery by positively impacting HRV following repeated WAnTs.