Muscle oxygenation, EMG, and cardiovascular responses for cabin attendants vs. controls.

Introduction: The goal was to investigate the effect of acute moderate hypobaric exposure on the physiological responses to sustained contractions (local) and light to moderate dynamic exercise (systemic) for cabin attendants (CAB) and a matched control group (CON).

Method: There were 14 CAB and 13 CON who participated. The experimental protocol was designed as a 2 x 2 randomized crossover study for which subjects performed a forearm isometric test and a cycling test in normobaric (NORM) and hypobaric [HYPO; 574 mmHg approximately 8000 ft (2440 m) above sea level (ASL)] conditions.