New static fitness techniques may be the best kind of exercise to reduce blood pressure, according to a major analysis published today.
Techniques including “planking” and wall-sitting are known as isometric training.
Dr Jamie O’Driscoll of Canterbury Christ Church University, UK, and colleagues carried out a meta-analysis of 270 randomised controlled trials, covering 15,827 participants.
Results showed several exercise modes that appeared to lower high blood pressure, including aerobic exercise, resistance training, a combination of the two, high-intensity interval training and isometric exercise training.
Isometric training is defined as a form of strength training where the person pushes or pulls against an immovable object or resists an opposing force without any joint movement.
This appeared to be the most effective approach, report the team in the British Journal of Sports Medicine today.
They write: “Aerobic exercise training, dynamic resistance training, combined training, high-intensity interval training and isometric exercise training are all significantly effective in reducing resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure.”
But they add: “Overall, isometric exercise training is the most effective mode in reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.”
This result supports the team’s previous work, which concluded that isometric exercise training was the superior antihypertensive exercise mode.
“These findings provide a comprehensive data driven framework to support the development of new exercise guideline recommendations for the prevention and treatment of arterial hypertension,” they conclude.
Edwards, J. J. et al. Exercise training and resting blood pressure: a largescale pairwise and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British Journal of Sports Medicine 26 July 2023; doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-106503
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