Reproducibility and sensitivity of muscle reoxygenation and oxygen uptake recovery kinetics following running exercise in the field

The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of postexercise near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)‐derived measurements and their sensitivity to different exercise intensities in the field. Seventeen athletes (24·1 ± 5·6 year) repeated, on three occasions, two 2‐min submaximal shuttle‐runs at 40% and 60% of V_IFT (final speed of the 30–15 intermittent fitness test) and a 50‐m shuttle‐run sprint (Sprint), with (OCC) or without (CON) repeated transient arterial occlusions of the medial gastrocnemius during the postexercise period. NIRS variables (i.e. oxyhaemoglobin [HbO₂], deoxyhaemoglobin [HHb] and their difference [Hb_diff]) were measured continuously for 3 min after each exercise. Half‐recovery (½Rec) and mean response (MRT; monoexponential curve fitting) times of muscle reoxygenation and muscle oxygen uptake () recovery were calculated. Reliability was assessed using the typical error of measurement, expressed as a coefficient of variation (CV). Postexercise recovery of muscle reoxygenation revealed CVs ranging from 16·8% to 37·3%; CV for recovery ranged from 6·2% to 20·9%, with no substantial differences shown between NIRS variables and exercise intensities. While running, intensity did not affect MRT or ½Rec for muscle reoxygenation, and differences were found for recovery (e.g. [Hb_diff]‐ MRT = 28·7 ± 5·2, 34·2 ± 5·1 and 37·3 ± 6·2 s for 40%, 60% and Sprint, respectively, P<0·01). To conclude, the kinetics of postexercise NIRS measurements showed CV values ranging from 6% to 37%, with no substantial differences between exercise intensities or NIRS‐derived variables. However, exercise intensity did influence recovery kinetics, but not that of muscle reoxygenation in an occlusion‐free condition.