Effects of a lumbar-type hybrid assistive limb on cardiopulmonary burden during squat exercise in healthy subjects. (August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Watanabe, Hiroki; Koike, Akira; Pak, Yo Joon; Wu, Longmei; Kubota, Hiroshi; Konno, Hirotomo; Sato, Akira; Kawamoto, Hiroaki; Matsumura, Akira; Aonuma, Kazutaka; Sankai, Yoshiyuki; Ieda, Masaki
• Is Part Of: Journal of clinical neuroscience. Volume 66(2019)
• Page Start: 226
• Page End: 230
• Publication Date: 2019-08
• Subjects: Hybrid assistive limb -- Respiratory gas analysis -- Oxygen uptake -- Cardiopulmonary burden; Brain -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Neurosciences -- Periodicals; Nervous system -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Brain -- surgery -- Periodicals; Neurosurgical Procedures -- Periodicals; Neurosciences -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2019.05.026
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0967-5868

Abstract

Highlights: All subjects completed exercise with and without HAL, and no adverse events were noted. The VO2 and the Borg Scale rating were significantly lower when HAL was used. The HAL significantly reduces cardiopulmonary burden during squat exercise. Abstract: The lumbar-type Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) is expected to expand the possibilities of exercise therapy for severe cardiac patients who have difficulty in moving on their own legs. We investigated whether motion assistance from HAL during squat exercise could effectively reduce the cardiopulmonary burden in healthy subjects. Twelve healthy subjects (33 ± 11 years) performed squat exercise for 3 consecutive minutes at a repetition rate of 20 squats per minute with and without assistance from a lumbar-type HAL. The oxygen uptake (VO2), carbon dioxide output (VCO2), minute ventilation (VE), and the Borg Scale were monitored during exercise. VO2 (930 ± 207 vs 992 ± 169 mL/min, p < 0.05) and the Borg Scale rating (12.8 ± 1.1 vs 13.7 ± 0.8, p < 0.05) at the end of exercise were significantly lower when HAL was used. When 2 subjects who regularly perform high-intensity exercise for more than 10 h per week were excluded from the analyses, VO2, VCO2, VE, and the Borg Scale were significantly lower when HAL was used. Our results demonstrate that the lumbar-type HAL significantly reduces cardiopulmonary burden during squat exercise in healthy subjects. The effects were especially striking in sedentary subjects. Further studies on cardiac patients are expected to establish a new cardiac rehabilitation program using HAL.