2023-07-30 14:13:34
Cecilie_Arcurs / Getty Images Two athletes planking.
Cecilie_Arcurs / Getty Images
According to a study, doing the plank would be one of the most effective exercises to reduce blood pressure.
HEALTH – It might be the position you dread the most in the gym, but the plank has real health benefits. A study, conducted by researchers from the British universities of Canterbury Christ Church and Leicester, compared the effectiveness of different sports exercises in reducing blood pressure. According to the results, reported by The Guardian Tuesday, July 25, isometric exerciseswhich involve engaging muscles without movement, are almost twice as effective as exercises recommended by the National Health Service (NHS).
According to NHS recommendations, adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or brisk walking, each week, in addition to special diets to reduce blood pressure. On the other hand, no mention of isometric exercises, such as the plank or the chair is present on the website of the public agency.
However, the study of 270 clinical trials carried out by British researchers on 15,827 participants shows that these exercises have beneficial effects on both systolic blood pressure, which measures blood pressure when the heart beats, and blood pressure. diastolic, which measures blood pressure between beats. The results of the study revealed significant reductions in resting blood pressure.
“An effective way to lower your blood pressure”
Jamie O’Driscoll, reader in cardiovascular physiology at Canterbury Christ Church University and lead author of the report, explained, according to The Guardianhow the reduction of blood pressure takes place.
During isometric exercises, the muscle is constantly contracted. This static contraction compresses the vessels that supply blood to the working muscles, which reduces blood flow to the muscle during exercise and therefore the supply of oxygen to the muscle. Subsequently, when the muscle relaxes, it causes a strong blood flow in the vessels and triggers an improvement in the regulation of blood flow.
Jamie O’Driscoll therefore recommends to perform “4 x 2 minutes of chair position once morest a wall, with 2 minutes of rest between each session, three times a week”. It is, according to him, “an effective way to lower your blood pressure”. Ideally these exercises “should be done alongside other modes of exercise, to provide the maximum choice of exercises rather than limiting them”he says.
Exercises not accessible to everyone
But as the reminder, in The Guardiansports medicine consultant Dr. Kush Joshi, “the reality is that a significant proportion of the population will not be able to do a plank or sit on a wall”.
To make these exercises accessible to all, Dr Kush Joshi is calling on UK policy makers to “Making exercise the foundation of treatment not only for high blood pressure but also for other medical conditions”.
Joanne Whitmore, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, interviewed by The Guardianshe insisted on recalling that it was also important to make lifestyle changes to reduce blood pressure, such as eating healthier and reducing alcohol consumption.
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