THE EFFECT OF ROCK CLIMBING WITH OR WITHOUT BLOOD FLOW RESTRICTION ON EXERCISE INDUCED RESPONSES OF VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR AND GROWTH HORMONE IN ELITE CLIMBERS: AN INTERVENTION TRIAL

Angiogenesis and increased capillary density of skeletal muscle are the potential physiological changes that occur during the flow restriction exercise. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of four weeks of rock climbing with or without blood flow restriction (BFR) on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Growth Hormone (GH) in elite climbers. In this semi-experimental study, 26 male and female elite climbers (aged 25-30 years; body fat percent 8-14%; with 4 years of athletic training) in a randomized and double-blind design were divided into two groups: rock climbing with BFR, and rock climbing without blood flow restriction (NBFR). The training protocol included three sessions per week for 4 weeks of rock climbing with severity of 80-60% of difficulty of the route. The cuff pressure was in the range of 40 to 100 mm Hg during rock climbing. Blood samples were obtained in the 4 phases: before and immediately after rock climbing protocols. VEGF and GH were analyzed. Finally, Data were analyzed using independent T-test. The significance level was set at p<0.05. Basal levels of GH and VEGF increased significantly after four weeks of rock climbing with BFR. However, the rock climbing without BFR had not any significant effect on the basal levels of GH and VEGF. Based on the results, it can be concluded that rock climbing with BFR could increase angiogenesis process by increasing basal levels of GH and VEGF.