F
Frank Miles
Guest
In article <pjsaa.15164$3D1.2005@sccrnsc01>, Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote:
>"Frank Miles" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>> In article <ecR9a.381606$be.351144@rwcrnsc53>,
>>
>> It seems obvious that motion (or even, though to a lesser degree, increasing and decreasing the
>> tension in a muscle) will increase blood flow to a leg muscle.
>
>Well, that's the question: Does no-load leg movement significantly improve venous return, or does
>it require skeletal muscle action (pumping) to improve it?
Can't really give a definitive answer to that. With the possible limiting case of fixed-gear use at
relatively low rpms, it would be really difficult to completely avoid muscle activity -- remaining
completely limp -- while the feet are moving. In comparison with my original argument -- no spinning
at all vs. pedalling downhill -- it seems probable that some leg motion is better than none.
> Is venous return a limiting factor in fatigue/recovery?
That's sufficiently broad (you don't get inflow without outflow, and "a" limiting factor, not
necessarily the only one) that it seems "obviously true".
-frank
--
>"Frank Miles" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>> In article <ecR9a.381606$be.351144@rwcrnsc53>,
>>
>> It seems obvious that motion (or even, though to a lesser degree, increasing and decreasing the
>> tension in a muscle) will increase blood flow to a leg muscle.
>
>Well, that's the question: Does no-load leg movement significantly improve venous return, or does
>it require skeletal muscle action (pumping) to improve it?
Can't really give a definitive answer to that. With the possible limiting case of fixed-gear use at
relatively low rpms, it would be really difficult to completely avoid muscle activity -- remaining
completely limp -- while the feet are moving. In comparison with my original argument -- no spinning
at all vs. pedalling downhill -- it seems probable that some leg motion is better than none.
> Is venous return a limiting factor in fatigue/recovery?
That's sufficiently broad (you don't get inflow without outflow, and "a" limiting factor, not
necessarily the only one) that it seems "obviously true".
-frank
--
