The Effects of “Physical BEMER® Vascular Therapy” on Work Performed During Repeated Wingate Sprints

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Bio-Electro-Magnetic-Energy-Regulation (BEMER) on recovery and performance parameters in anaerobic exercise compared to active and passive recovery. Method: Fifteen recreationally active participants completed four sessions separated by 2–5 days between each session. The first visit involved one Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT; 30-s cycling sprint on a Monark ergometer) to familiarize participants with testing procedures. The three subsequent sessions involved four repeated WAnTs. Each sprint was followed by 4 min of either passive recovery (laying supine), active recovery (pedaling at 50 rpm at 20% of sprint workload), or BEMER recovery (laying supine on the BEMER body pad at intensity level “5-Plus.”). The same recovery method was used within each testing session, and recovery method order was randomized across participants. Results: There was no difference in peak power, average power, fatigue index, or average work performed between recovery conditions. Active recovery resulted in a statistically significant decrease in ratings of pain intensity (M = −0.767, SD = 0.928) and pain unpleasantness (M = −0.608, SD = 0.915), from the first minute to the fourth minute of recovery, compared to both BEMER (Intensity: M = 0.675, SD = 0.745, Unpleasantness: M = 1.125, SD = 0.862) and passive (Intensity: M = 0.542, SD = 0.774, Unpleasantness: M = 1.018, SD = 0.872) recoveries, where pain ratings increased. Conclusions: Although no recovery method resulted in increased performance, active recovery led to a more comfortable exercise experience while still allowing comparable exercise performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Athletic performance
• exercise
• high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
• recovery

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank our study participants for volunteering to complete such a grueling protocol. We would also like to thank the grant agencies who funded this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

IRB approval

The Lewis–Clark State College Institutional Review Board approved this project on January 10, 2020.

Additional information

Funding

Idaho Higher Education Research Council (HERC) Research Collaborative Award; American College of Sports Medicine Northwest Student Research Award; Idaho Higher Education Research Council (HERC) Student Research Award.