Acute Moderate Hypoxia Affects the Oxygen Desaturation and the Performance but not the Oxygen Uptake Response

R. A. P. Heubert; V. Quaresima; L. P. Laffite; J. P. Koralsztein; V. L. Billat

doi:10.1055/s-2004-821329

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2005; 26(7): 542-551
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-821329

Physiology & Biochemistry

Acute Moderate Hypoxia Affects the Oxygen Desaturation and the Performance but not the Oxygen Uptake Response

R. A. P. Heubert¹ , V. Quaresima² , L. P. Laffite¹ , J. P. Koralsztein¹ , V. L. Billat¹

¹Centre de Médecine du Sport, Caisse Centrale des Activités Sociales, Paris, France
²Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of hypoxia on the O₂ uptake response, on the arterial and muscular desaturation and on the test duration and test duration at V·O_2max during exhaustive exercise performed in normoxia and hypoxia at the same relative workload. Nine well-trained males cyclists performed an incremental test and an exhaustive constant power test at 90 % of maximal aerobic power on a cycling ergometer, both in normoxia and hypoxia (inspired O₂ fraction = 16 %). Hypoxic normobar conditions were obtained using an Alti Trainer²⁰⁰ and muscular desaturation was monitored by near-infrared spectroscopy instrument (Niro-300). The mean response time (66 ± 4 s vs. 44 ± 7 s) was significantly lower in hypoxia caused by the shorter time constant of the V·O₂ slow component. This result was due to the lower absolute work rate in hypoxia which decreased the amplitude of the V·O₂ slow component. The arterial (94.6 ± 0.3 % vs. 84.2 ± 0.7 %) and muscular desaturation (in the vastus lateralis and the lateral gastrocnemius) were reduced by hypoxia. The test duration (440 ± 31 s vs. 362 ± 36 s) and the test duration at V·O_2max (286 ± 53 s vs. 89 ± 33 s) were significantly shorter in hypoxia. Only in normoxia, the test duration was correlated with arterial and muscular saturation (r = 0.823 and r = 0.828; p < 0.05). At the same relative workload, hypoxia modified performance, arterial and muscular oxygen desaturation but not the oxygen uptake response. In normoxia, correlation showed that desaturation seems to be a limiting factor of performance.

Key words

Cycling exercise at the same relative work load - near-infrared spectroscopy

Full Text

References

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R. Heubert

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