Spinal Cord Injuries
Conditions
Brief summary
Paralympians competing in wheelchair sports may experience a very high glycolytic demand (and therefore acidotic environment) in their upper-body muscles, particularly in high-intensity disciplines. Previous studies from our group have shown that upper-body exercise is very sensitive to the ergogenic effects of β-alanine supplementation and to other nutritional supplements capable of increasing buffering capacity. In line with this, have shown that upper-body muscle groups benefit more from artificially induced alkalosis than lower-body muscle groups. Although β-alanine appears to be an interesting and potential ergogenic supplement for paralympians, no study to date has assessed its potential in wheelchair athletes.In this study, we will evaluate the effects of β-alanine supplementation on upper-body performance in wheelchair athletes.
Interventions
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTBeta-alanine
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTDextrose
Sponsors
University of Sao Paulo
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Paralympian training for any exercise modality for at least one year; * A weekly training volume of 6 hours or more; * Have a spinal cord injury accompanied by loss of motor function in the lower limbs for at least one year; * Available for carrying out the experimental procedures.
Exclusion criteria
* Use of creatine or beta-alanine for at least 3 and 6 months before the trial; * Cardiovascular or respiratory disease; * Clinical condition that result in malabsorption of nutrients; * Any other medical condition that prevents the realization of experimental procedures.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Exercise performance (Time to exhaustion test) | 28 days | Time to exhaustion test performed on arm crank ergometer |
| Muscle carnosine content before and after supplementation | 28 days | Assessed by muscle biopsy samples before performance tests |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle carnosine content in trained (deltoid) vs. untrained (vastus lateralis) muscles | 28 days | Deltoids microbiopsy and vastus lateralis biopsy |
| Blood pH. | 5 minutes after performance tests | 1 mL venous blood sample |
| Safety of beta-alanine supplementation measured by complete hemogram analysis | 28 days | — |
Countries
Brazil
Contacts
Primary ContactGuilherme Artioli, PhD
Outcome results
None listed