1. After long term exposure to altitude, the body makes several adjustments in order to perform physical activity in the hypoxic condition.
A) What chronic adaptations are most beneficial for performance at altitude?
When one goes into high altitudes their immediate response are somewhat negative the increase in ventilation, decrease in carbon dioxide, respiratory alkalosis, being in a hypoxic state and many more. However, when having an exercise performance such as the winter Olympics one should take the proper precautions. Chronic adaptations to altitude include pulmonary, cardiovascular, muscle, nutrition/metabolism function. When pertaining to Desplanches et al. their researched was predominately looking at how changes in the pH can affect muscular function. As we learned in class there is a drastic change in pH levels due to the blood becoming more alkaline. Higher ventilation increases PaO2, but causes a shift of the curve to left to form a tighter bond between hemoglobin and oxygen. With that bicarbonate plays an …show more content…
The reduced mechanical burden leads to a decrease in muscle mass, architecture, and strength which, in turn, contributes to bone demineralization. Changes are seen within the first few days of space flight and continue throughout exposure to microgravity. Two adaptations that occur in the muscular system are that there is a decrease in strength and power for muscles along with an increase in fatigability. Fitts et al. found that in rats as compared to human that there was a rapid loss in cell mass of about 37% in the soleus muscle during microgravity with just a week of observation (6). This could be due to a contribution of various factors such as a decrease in slow twitch fibers, a decrease in the contraction of plantar flexion, and thin filament actin along with cross over bridge
A) What chronic adaptations are most beneficial for performance at altitude?
When one goes into high altitudes their immediate response are somewhat negative the increase in ventilation, decrease in carbon dioxide, respiratory alkalosis, being in a hypoxic state and many more. However, when having an exercise performance such as the winter Olympics one should take the proper precautions. Chronic adaptations to altitude include pulmonary, cardiovascular, muscle, nutrition/metabolism function. When pertaining to Desplanches et al. their researched was predominately looking at how changes in the pH can affect muscular function. As we learned in class there is a drastic change in pH levels due to the blood becoming more alkaline. Higher ventilation increases PaO2, but causes a shift of the curve to left to form a tighter bond between hemoglobin and oxygen. With that bicarbonate plays an …show more content…
The reduced mechanical burden leads to a decrease in muscle mass, architecture, and strength which, in turn, contributes to bone demineralization. Changes are seen within the first few days of space flight and continue throughout exposure to microgravity. Two adaptations that occur in the muscular system are that there is a decrease in strength and power for muscles along with an increase in fatigability. Fitts et al. found that in rats as compared to human that there was a rapid loss in cell mass of about 37% in the soleus muscle during microgravity with just a week of observation (6). This could be due to a contribution of various factors such as a decrease in slow twitch fibers, a decrease in the contraction of plantar flexion, and thin filament actin along with cross over bridge