The cardiovascular response to passive movement is joint dependent

The cardiovascular responses to passive limb movement (PLM) at the knee are well established, however, responses to PLM at other joints involving smaller muscle volume are unknown. To compare the cardiovascular responses to passive movement at other joints, 10 participants underwent a PLM protocol in which the wrist, elbow, ankle, and knee joints were passively extended and flexed at 1 Hz for 1 min. Heart rate (HR), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and arterial blood flow to that limb segment (BF) were measured and vascular conductance (VC) was calculated for a 30‐sec baseline period and for 3‐sec intervals throughout PLM protocols. PLM of the knee and elbow resulted in significant increases in BF and VC from baseline values with peak values 180% (P