The effect of walking on a vacuum treadmill on muscle oxygenation

This study aims to evaluate the effects of the vacuum treadmill on muscle oxygenation (SmO2) by examining differences during walking on a vacuum and normal treadmill. Participants underwent a moderate-intensity exercise program, maintaining a heart rate between 65-75% of their maximum heart rate, and walked for 30 minutes under both conditions. A total of 34 healthy women aged between 18 and 30 were included in the study. A muscle oxygen monitor was placed on the quadriceps femoris muscle to measure SmO2 values. In addition, participants' heart rate, blood pressure, perceived exertion level, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, subcutaneous fat thickness, and International Physical Activity Questionnaire results were evaluated. The measurements revealed that vital signs changed in accordance with the normal physiological changes of exercise under both vacuum and non-vacuum walking conditions. While there were no significant differences in SmO2 and total hemoglobin (THb) values at rest prior to vacuum and non-vacuum walking (p>0.05), the values measured during walking (p<0.001) and recovery (p=0.007) on the vacuum treadmill were statistically significantly different. In both conditions, significant differences were also observed between the average SmO2 values during rest and walking, walking and recovery, and rest and recovery phases (p<0.001). Similar changes were seen in the delta (Δ) values during transitions between phases (rest-walking-recovery phases) in both vacuum and non-vacuum walking conditions (p>0.05). This indicates that blood circulation increased proportionally in both walking conditions. In conclusion, the vacuum treadmill positively affects muscle oxygenation during and after exercise, and this effect may be significant from an exercise physiology perspective. This study contributes to understanding the physiological effects of the vacuum treadmill and provides a new perspective for exercise protocols.