Acute intraocular pressure responses to high-intensity interval-training protocols in men and women

Abstract

Purpose: We aimed (1) to test the acute impact of two high-intensity interval-training (HIIT) protocols differing in the level of effort on intraocular pressure (IOP) responses, and (2) to elucidate whether the IOP responses differ between men and women. Methods: Twenty-four physically active collegiate (12 men and 12 women) performed three protocols: low-fatigue HIIT (eight 30-m sprints with 60-s of rest), high-fatigue HIIT (eight 30-m sprints with 30-s of rest), and control (walking). IOP was taken at baseline, after sprints and recovery by rebound tonometry. Results: Our data revealed an acute IOP reduction during both HIIT protocols compared to the control condition (effect size [ES]:0.81-1.65). The differences between both HIIT protocols were generally negligible (ES<0.30), however, the reduction of IOP was moderately higher for the low-fatigue HIIT protocol after the 7th (ES: 0.67) and 8th (ES: 0.74) sprints. Women showed a more prominent lowering effect on IOP during the control condition (ES: 0.42-1.02), and during the two first sprints of both HIIT protocols (ES: 0.54-1.03). Conclusions: These findings highlight that a time-efficient HIIT protocol may acutely reduce IOP levels, while low-fatigue HIIT protocol could be recommend.