Abstract
The development of underwater Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (uNIRS) has enabled the measurement of tissue oxygenation within the swim environment. Unique physiological responses, such as the diving reflex, have been shown to occur during synchronized swimming and demonstrate an innate oxygen-conserving reflex. However, the prevalence of a sudden loss of consciousness (‘hypoxic blackout’) is an ongoing concern in this swim population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reported low tissue oxygen conditions experienced in elite level synchronized swimmers (SyncS) during swim routines. Changes in peripheral muscle and brain oxygenation (Tissue Saturation Index (TSI %)) were continuously recorded during simulated synchronized swim routines. Six elite female synchronized swimmers were assessed; age 29.0 ± 4.4 years; height 168.4 ± 7.1 cm; weight 53.2 ± 3.2 kg; quadriceps skin fold; 10.2 ± 0.8 mm; ΔTSI (%) between the vastus lateralis (VL) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) were analyzed using paired (two-tailed) t-tests. The level of significance for analysis was set at p < 0.05. Significant difference (p = 0.001) was found in ΔTSI (%) between the VL and PFC. During dynamic leg kicking exercise, the initial effect of each leg kicking sequence is a rapid drop in TSI (%). This is consistent with an initial constriction (drop in blood flow in the muscle) accompanied by an increase in oxygen consumption. Cerebral oxygenation (PFC) remained largely unchanged during both maximal breath-hold and during vigorous exercise, presumably due to protective mechanisms in the brain in this population. We conclude that uNIRS is able to provide novel insights into SyncS hemodynamic responses and could be used to inform on the safety of new routines.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Pendergrast D, CLundrgren C (2009) The underwater environment: cardiopulmonary, thermal, and energetic demands. J Appl Physiol 106:276–283
Jamnik V, Gledhill N, Hunter I et al (1987) Physiological assessment of synchronized swimming and elite synchronized swimmers. Med Sci Sports Exerc 19:S65
Rodríguez-Zamora L, Iglesias X, Barrero A et al (2014) Perceived exertion, time of immersion and physiological correlates in synchronized swimming. Int J Sports Med 35:403–411
Rodríguez-Zamora L, Iglesias X, Barrero A et al (2012) Physiological responses in relation to performance during competition in elite synchronized swimmers. PLoS One 7:e49098
Pearn J, Franklin R, Peden A (2015) Hypoxic blackout: diagnosis, risks, and prevention. Int J Aqu Res Edu 9:342–347
Dujic Z, Breskovic T (2012) Impact of breath holding on cardiovascular respiratory and cerebrovascular health. Sports Med 42:459–472
Jones B, Cooper CE (2016) Underwater near-infrared spectroscopy: muscle oxygen changes in the upper and lower extremities in club level swimmers and triathletes. Adv Exp Med Biol 876:35–40
Jones B, Dat M, Cooper CE (2014) Underwater near-infrared spectroscopy measurements of muscle oxygenation: laboratory validation and preliminary observations in swimmers and triathletes. J Biomed Opt 19:127002
Patterson MS, Chance B, Wilson BC (1999) Time resolved reflectance and transmittance for the non-invasive measurement of tissue optical properties. Appl Opt 28:2331–2336
Suzuki S, Takasaki S, Ozaki T, et al (1999) Tissue oxygenation monitor using NIR spatially resolved spectroscopy. International Biomedical Optics Symposium: International Society for Optics and Photonics
Dimmen A, Subudhi A, Roach R (2006) Cerebral and muscle oxygenation during incremental exercise in normoxia and hypoxia. Med Sci Sports Exerc 38:S32
Palada I, Obad A, Bakovic D, Valic Z, Ivancev V, Dujic Z (2007) Cerebral and peripheral hemodynamics and oxygenation during maximal dry breath-holds. Respir Physiol Neurobiol 157:374–381
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the athletes and NHK broadcasting company for allowing this research to take place.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jones, B., Cooper, C.E. (2018). Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) Observation of Vastus Lateralis (Muscle) and Prefrontal Cortex (Brain) Tissue Oxygenation During Synchronised Swimming Routines in Elite Athletes. In: Thews, O., LaManna, J., Harrison, D. (eds) Oxygen Transport to Tissue XL. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1072. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91287-5_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91287-5_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-91285-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-91287-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)