Effect of a short ischaemic preconditioning protocol on 100-m front crawl performance

Purpose. The aim of our study was to analyse the effect of a single-cycle ischaemic preconditioning (IPC) protocol on performance in the 100-m front crawl swimming modality. Methods. Overall, 16 swimmers were recruited: 8 female athletes (12.9 ± 0.88 years) and 8 male athletes (13.1 ± 0.88 years). In a randomized crossover design, all participants performed a 100-m front crawl sprint preceded by an IPC or placebo cycle. In the IPC trial, a pneumatic cuff was attached to the proximal thigh and was inflated at a pressure equivalent to 80% of arterial occlusion and remained inflated for 5 min (ischaemia); in the placebo trial, the cuff remained inflated for the same amount of time, but at low external pressure levels (20 mm Hg). The volunteers started the test 5 min after cuff pressure release (reperfusion). Results. It was not possible to verify significant differences within the time (seconds) required to complete the test between the IPC and placebo interventions (75.68 ± 7.2 and 75.75 ± 8.1 s, respectively; p = 0.916). Conclusions. Therefore, we can conclude that the tested IPC protocol does not seem to be sufficient to provide performance improvement in 100-m front crawl in young athletes.