Spectral analysis of blood flow oscillations to assess the plantar skin blood flow regulation in response to preconditioning local vibrations

BACKGROUND: Local vibration has shown promise in improving skin blood flow and wound healing. However, the underlying mechanism of local vibration as a preconditioning intervention to alter plantar skin blood flow after walking is unclear. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to use wavelet analysis of skin blood flow oscillations to investigate the effect of preconditioning local vibration on plantar tissues after walking. METHODS: A double-blind, repeated measures design was tested in 10 healthy participants. The protocol included 10-min baseline, 10-min local vibrations (100 Hz or sham), 10-min walking, and 10-min recovery periods. Skin blood flow was measured over the first metatarsal head of the right foot during the baseline and recovery periods. Wavelet amplitudes after walking were expressed as the ratio of the wavelet amplitude before walking. RESULTS: The results showed the significant difference in the metabolic (vibration 10.06 ± 1.97, sham 5.78 ± 1.53, p < 0.01) and neurogenic (vibration 7.45 ± 1.54, sham 4.78 ± 1.22, p < 0.01) controls. There were no significant differences in the myogenic, respiratory and cardiac controls between the preconditioning local vibration and sham conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that preconditioning local vibration altered the normalization rates of plantar skin blood flow after walking by stimulating the metabolic and neurogenic controls.