TUESDAY, Sept. 3, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- Crossing your legs and tensing your muscles may help prevent fainting, says a study in the online issue of Circulation.
Those actions may provide a simple solution for people at risk for fainting during emotional distress or during long periods of standing.
This is the first study to document this fainting counter maneuver, which could be a simple, inexpensive alternative to drugs or pacemakers, says study senior author Dr. Wouter Wieling, an associate professor of internal medicine at the Academic Center of the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The study included 20 people, aged 17 to 24, prone to fainting. They learned to cross their legs and tense muscles in their legs, abdomen and buttocks while standing. They were then subjected to various tests where they used the leg-crossing/muscle-tensing combination.
The researchers also did follow-up interviews with the study subjects to assess their use of this technique and its success.
The study concluded the counter maneuvers can prevent or delay impending fainting in people who are prone to it.
Fainting is caused by a neurological reflex in the brain, in response to a physical or emotional trigger. The brain responds to the trigger by sending signals that cause blood vessels to dilate, leading to blood pooling in the legs, the researchers say.
The heart rate also decreases, and the brain doesn't receive enough oxygen-carrying blood.
More information
To learn more about fainting, visit the National Library of Medicine.
