Ischemic Pre-Conditioning Does Not Influence Maximal Sprint Acceleration Performance.

Ischemic pre-conditioning (IPC) was initially developed to protect the myocardium from ischemia through altered cardiocyte metabolism. Due to the observed effects on metabolism and oxygen kinetics, IPC gained interest as a potential ergogenic aid in sport. Limited research evaluating the effects of IPC on maximal short-duration activities has been performed and of the existing literature, mixed outcomes resulting from intra-subject variation may have clouded the efficacy of this technique for enhancing sprint performance. Therefore, the current study employed a randomized repeated-measures crossover design with IPC, placebo (SHAM), and control conditions while using sprint-trained athletes (n=18) to determine the effect of IPC (3 x 5 min occlusions, with 5min reperfusion), concluding fifteen minutes prior to maximal 10 and 20 m sprinting. A visual analogue scale was used in conjunction with the sprint trials to evaluate any possible placebo effect on performance. Despite a "significantly beneficial" perception of the IPC treatment compared with the SHAM trials (P < 0.001), no changes in sprint performance were observed following either the IPC or SHAM conditions over 10 m (IPC Δ = <0.01s ± 0.02s, SHAM Δ = <0.01s ± 0.02s) or 20 m (IPC Δ = -0.01s ± 0.03s, SHAM Δ = <0.01s ± 0.03s) compared to control. Thus, an IPC protocol does not improve 10 or 20 m sprint performance in sprint-trained athletes.