Pre-dive whole-body vibration better reduces decompression-induced vascular gas emboli than oxygenation or a combination of both

Costantino Balestra, Sigrid Theunissen, Virginie Papadopoulou, Cedric Le Mener, Peter Germonpré, François Guerrero, Pierre Lafère

    Onderzoeksoutput: Bijdrage aan een tijdschriftArtikelpeer review

    Samenvatting

    Purpose: Since non-provocative dive profiles are no guarantor of protection against decompression sickness, novel means including pre-dive "preconditioning" interventions, are proposed for its prevention. This study investigated and compared the effect of pre-dive oxygenation, pre-dive whole body vibration or a combination of both on post-dive bubble formation. Methods: Six healthy volunteers performed 6 no-decompression dives each, to a depth of 33 mfw for 20 min (3 control dives without preconditioning and 1 of each preconditioning protocol) with a minimum interval of 1 week between each dive. Post-dive bubbles were counted in the precordium by two-dimensional echocardiography, 30 and 90 min after the dive, with and without knee flexing. Each diver served as his own control. Results: Vascular gas emboli (VGE) were systematically observed before and after knee flexing at each post-dive measurement. Compared to the control dives, we observed a decrease in VGE count of 23.8 ± 7.4% after oxygen breathing (p < 0.05), 84.1 ± 5.6% after vibration (p < 0.001), and 55.1 ± 9.6% after vibration combined with oxygen (p < 0.001). The difference between all preconditioning methods was statistically significant. Conclusions: The precise mechanism that induces the decrease in post-dive VGE and thus makes the diver more resistant to decompression stress is still not known. However, it seems that a pre-dive mechanical reduction of existing gas nuclei might best explain the beneficial effects of this strategy. The apparent non-synergic effect of oxygen and vibration has probably to be understood because of different mechanisms involved.

    Originele taal-2Engels
    Artikelnummer586
    TijdschriftFrontiers in Physiology
    Volume7
    Nummer van het tijdschriftNOV
    DOI's
    StatusGepubliceerd - 30 nov. 2016

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