European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 16, 16 (2023) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2023.008

Monitoring oxygen uptake, blood lactate and heart rate in swimmers with impairments: A systematic review

Wellington G. Feitosa1,2, Ricardo de A. Correia1,, Tiago M. Barbosa3,4, Flávio A. de S. Castro1
1 Aquatic Sports Reseach Group, School of Physical Education, Physiotherapy and Dance, Federal University of the Rio Grande do Sul / Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
2 Faculty of Physical Education, Ceará State University / Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil.
3 Department of Sport Sciences, School of Education, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Bragança, Portugal.
4 Research Centre in Sports, Health and Human Development, Vila Real, Portugal.

Physiological parameters give an indication of the potential swimming performance. Studies regarding swimmers with impairments which gather information on physiological parameters are scarce. The aim of this study was to summarize the results of studies involving oxygen uptake, blood lactate and heart rate in swimming protocols for swimmers with physical impairments. A comprehensive search of the literature was performed on PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and EBSCO for complete studies between database inception and May 22nd, 2023. Ten studies (n = 142) fulfilled the inclusion criteria (including swimmers with physical impairments that monitor oxygen uptake, blood lactate and heart rate responses). A numerical summary and a narrative description of the results in relation to the research eligibility criteria were summarized. The risk of bias was assessed by Quality Assessment Checklist. In swimming protocols, swimmers with a lower functional impact of the impairment to perform sport-specific tasks showed higher oxygen uptake and blood lactate than those with a higher impact (6 studies, n = 79). The highest concentrations of blood lactate were reached in maximal anaerobic tests, followed by maximal aerobic tests (7 studies, n = 98). The relative heart rate was close to 90% in most cases (8 studies, n = 83). The studies also showed great variability in the physiological parameters concerning the categories or classifications of swimmers with physical impairments. The oxygen uptake, blood lactate concentration and relative heart rate assessments should consider functionalities and absences according to specific morphophysiological impairment.

Keywords: swimming; physiological; performance; disability

Received: January 30, 2023; Revised: May 29, 2023; Accepted: August 29, 2023; Prepublished online: October 4, 2023; Published online: April 26, 2024  Show citation

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Feitosa, W.G., de Correia, R.A., Barbosa, T.M., & de Castro, F.A.S. (2023). Monitoring oxygen uptake, blood lactate and heart rate in swimmers with impairments: A systematic review. European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity16, Article 16. https://doi.org/10.5507/euj.2023.008
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