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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2025 Feb;125(2):469-481.
doi: 10.1007/s00421-024-05613-0. Epub 2024 Sep 23.

Leg fidgeting alleviates reduced oxygen extraction in the gastrocnemius muscle caused by prolonged sitting: a randomized crossover trial

Hajime Tamiya  1 , Kazuki Hotta  2   3 , Megumi Hoshiai  4 , Yuko Kurosawa  5 , Takafumi Hamaoka  5 , Atsuhiro Tsubaki  6
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Leg fidgeting alleviates reduced oxygen extraction in the gastrocnemius muscle caused by prolonged sitting: a randomized crossover trial

Hajime Tamiya et al. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: Oxygen extraction in skeletal muscle is an important determinant of exercise tolerance. Prolonged sitting decreases oxygen extraction in the gastrocnemius muscle. However, the underlying mechanism remains unknown, and preventive measures are yet to be established. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism by which prolonged sitting decreased muscle oxygen extraction and investigate preventive measures.

Methods: Ten healthy young males (age 21.2 ± 0.4 years; body mass index, 20.5 ± 1.3 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to each of the following conditions: 3-h supine (CON), 3-h sitting (SIT), and 3-h fidgeting of one lower leg during sitting (FID). Oxygen extraction from the gastrocnemius muscle was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy and the vascular occlusion test under each condition. The rate of change in total Hb + Mb (THb) was measured as an indicator of venous stasis and interstitial fluid accumulation in the lower leg.

Results: Muscle oxygen extraction was significantly lower at 180 min for SIT and FID than for CON (4384.2 ± 1426.8; 5281.5 ± 1823.7; 6517.4 ± 1390.8 a.u., respectively) and significantly higher for FID than for SIT (5281.5 ± 1823.7 vs. 4384.2 ± 1426.8 a.u., respectively). The rate of THb change was significantly higher at 180 min for SIT than for CON and FID (12.9 ± 15.1; -2.3 ± 5.7; 2.2 ± 11.6%, respectively). However, no significant difference was observed between CON and FID.

Conclusion: We found that 3-h prolonged sitting reduced oxygen extraction in the gastrocnemius muscles due to reduced oxygen supply to capillaries and increased distance between capillaries and myocytes. However, leg fidgeting alleviated this effect in healthy young males.

Trial registration number: UMIN000050531 (March 8, 2023).

Keywords: Arterial blood flow; Muscle oxygen extraction; Near-infrared spectroscopy; Three-h uninterrupted sitting.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. Ethics approval: The study protocols were approved by the Ethical Review Board of Niigata University of Health and Welfare and performed in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (approval number: 18647-210618). This study is also registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Center (UMIN trial ID: UMIN000050531). Consent to participate: Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent to publish: All participants consented for the results of this study to be made available to the public.

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