There is concern that wearing a face mask during COVID will affect oxygen uptake, especially during intense exercise. This study will assess the effect of wearing two different face masks (disposable and cloth) on blood and muscle oxygenation during cycling exercise.
There is concern that wearing a face mask during exercise will reduce oxygen uptake or increase carbon dioxide re-breathing, which can result in low blood oxygen levels, reduced oxygen delivery to muscle and reduced exercise capacity. The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of wearing two different types of commonly-worn face masks (diposable and cloth) during exercise on blood and muscle oxygenation. Twelve participants who are experienced with cycling will take part in this randomized cross-over study that will assess blood oxygenation (i.e. pulse oximetry) and muscle oxygenation (with near infrared spectroscopy) during a progressive step exercise test to exhaustion. The conditions include no mask, a disposable mask, and a cloth mask. Outcome variables include exercise duration, rating of perceived exertion, blood oxygen saturation levels, and oxygenated, deoxygenated, and total hemoglobin at the quadriceps muscle.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
14
Progressive step cycling exercise test to exhaustion
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Time to exhaustion during exercise
time to exhaustion
Time frame: Up to 20 minutes
Change from baseline in peak power output
Peak power output in Watts, determined on a cycle ergometer
Time frame: Up to 20 minutes
Change from baseline in blood oxygen saturation
Blood oxygen saturation as determined by pulse oximetry
Time frame: Up to 20 minutes
Change from baseline in quadriceps tissue oxygenation index
Tissue oxygenation index (oxygenated hemoglobin/total hemoglobin) as measured by near infra-red spectroscopy
Time frame: Up to 20 minutes
Change from baseline in rating of perceived exertion
Rating of perceived exertion on a scale of 1-10 (Modified Borg Scale), a higher score indicates a greater perceived exertion
Time frame: Up to 20 minutes
Change from baseline in heart rate
Heart rate (beats per minute)
Time frame: Up to 20 minutes
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