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Muscle fatigue at high-altitude : acute and chronic adaptations at the central and peripheral level

University of British Columbia

It is known that acute hypoxia induces a reduction in performance, that Lowlanders acclimatize to hypoxia after prolonged exposure, and that Sherpa outperform Lowlanders at high-altitude. However, research on adaptations from short- and long-term chronic exposure to hypoxia is scarce. This is due to the challenges of bringing Lowlanders to high-altitude as well as the limited opportunity to study high-altitude dwellers in their native environment. Hence, the purpose of this dissertation is to broaden the knowledge of short- and long-term neuromuscular adaptations to residency at high-altitude (i.e. chronic hypoxia) and to assess how these adaptations impact performance and muscle fatigue in the high-altitude environment. Four research studies have been included in the present thesis. Studies 1 and 2 investigate how acute hypoxia and acclimatization to high-altitude affect fatigue in Lowlanders, covering cerebral and spinal mechanisms in study 1, and muscular (i.e. peripheral) mechanisms in study 2. In studies 3 and 4, the spectrum of acclimatization considered was widened, and neuromuscular fatigue at high-altitude was compared between Lowlanders (1-2 weeks of chronic hypoxia) and Sherpa (a lifetime of altitude-related adaptations) for the brain-to-muscle pathway (study 3) and at the muscular level (study 4). Findings from this dissertation will be beneficial to enhance the current knowledge of the efficacy of acclimatization to hypoxia in Lowlanders, and to devise strategies to maintain performance in individuals working or training at high-altitude.

Text

2018-12-07

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/67990

Interdisciplinary Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/