Evidence for restricted muscle blood flow during speed skating.

Introduction: We have previously hypothesized restricted muscle blood flow during speed skating, secondary to the high intramuscular forces intrinsic to the unique posture assumed by speed skaters and to the prolonged duty cycle of the skating stroke.

Methods: To test this hypothesis, we studied speed skaters (N = 10) during submaximal and maximal cycling and in-line skating, in both low (knee angle = 107 degrees) and high (knee angle = 112 degrees) skating positions (CE vs SkL vs SkH). Supportive experiments evaluated muscle desaturation and lactate accumulation during on-ice speed skating and muscle desaturation during static exercise at different joint positions.