ORAL TEMPERATURE AND CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES OF APPARENTLY HEALTHY SUBJECTS TO PASSIVE AND ACTIVE WARM-UP

Abstract

This study investigated and compared the effects of active and passive warm-up on oral 
temperature and cardiovascular parameters of forty (20 males and 20 females) apparently 
healthy undergraduates. Subjects whose mean age was 22.6±1.37years acted as their own 
controls. During active warm-up (AWU) subjects rode on an unloaded bicycle ergometer for 
15 minutes while they received infra-red radiation to the lower extremities for 15 minutes 
during passive warm-up (PWU). Oral temperature (OT) and cardiovascular parameters of 
systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR) and ratepressure product (RPP) were measured before and after each type of warm-up. The data 
were summarized using mean and standard deviation and further analyzed using 
independent (unpaired) t-test with α set at 0.05.Results showed that there were no 
significant differences between pre- and post PWU cardiovascular parameters of the 
subjects. In contrast, significant differences were observed between the pre- and post- AWU 
cardiovascular parameters of the subjects. However, oral temperature responses to both 
AWU and PWU were statistically significant. Further, the responses (mean changes) of HR, 
SBP and RPP to AWU were significantly different. There were also no significant differences 
between the responses of male and female subjects to either AWU or PWU. Due to the 
significant increases in HR, SPB and RPP following AWU it was suggested that care should 
be taken when including AWU in treatment programmes of patients with or suspected of 
having cardiovascular problems.