Lactate production without hypoxia in skeletal muscle during electrical cycling: Crossover study of femoral venous-arterial differences in healthy volunteers

BackgroundAim of the study was to compare metabolic response of leg skeletal muscle during functional electrical stimulation-driven unloaded cycling (FES) to that seen during volitional supine cycling.MethodsFourteen healthy volunteers were exposed in random order to supine cycling, either volitional (10-25-50 W, 10 min) or FES assisted (unloaded, 10 min) in a crossover design. Whole body and leg muscle metabolism were assessed by indirect calorimetry with concomitant repeated measurements of femoral venous-arterial differences of blood gases, glucose, lactate and amino acids.ResultsUnloaded FES cycling, but not volitional exercise, led to a significant increase in across-leg lactate production (from -1.1±2.1 to 5.5±7.4 mmol/min, p2 and CO2 gaps. Femoral SvO2 difference was directly proportional to VA difference of lactate (R2 = 0.60, p = 0.002). Across-leg glucose uptake did not change with either type of exercise. Systemic oxygen consumption increased with FES cycling to similarly to 25W volitional exercise (138±29% resp. 124±23% of baseline). There was a net uptake of branched-chain amino acids and net release of Alanine from skeletal muscle, which were unaltered by either type of exercise.ConclusionsUnloaded FES cycling, but not volitional exercise causes significant lactate production without hypoxia in skeletal muscle. This phenomenon can be significant in vulnerable patients’ groups.