What is the effect of vigorous exercise on the brain?

Abstract Aims: This study aimed to verify whether vigorous exercise is capable of generating mental fatigue. Methods: To do so, 16 young adult male (29.4 ± 5.2 years old) cyclists (5.4 ± 4.6 years of training) underwent three visits: 1) control session (rest); 2) session with cognitive demand (20 minutes of AX-CPT); 3) session with vigorous exercise (10km time trial). Mental fatigue was assessed using the visual analog scale of fatigue in the pre-and post-session moments. A two-way ANOVA of repeated measures followed by the Bonferroni posthoc was used to verify the effect of the condition (control, cognitive demand, and exercise) and time (pre and post) interaction. The paired "t" test was used to compare the delta of mental fatigue (post - pre) of the sessions. The partial eta squared was used to determine the effect size of the variance. The significance adopted was p < 0.05. Results: A condition x time interaction was observed (F (2.30) = 5.349, p = 0.010, partial η2 = 0.263). When comparing the deltas, a mean difference was found between the control and vigorous exercise (p = 0.033) conditions and cognitive demand and vigorous exercise (p = 0.017) conditions. Control and cognitive demand sessions showed no difference (p = 0.801). Conclusion: The findings suggest that intense physical exercise seems to cause mental fatigue after practice.

External iliac artery endofibrosis in an elite female endurance cyclist / Endofibrose da artéria ilíaca externa em uma ciclista de resistência de elite

Abstract External iliac artery endofibrosis is a rare pathology that affects high-level endurance athletes, especially cyclists. Classical symptoms include pain, loss of power, and/or cramp in the affected limb while training at maximal effort. The patient's lack of atherosclerotic risk factors makes clinical suspicion of arteriopathy challenging. Moreover, the best management of such patients is still a subject of discussion. We report the case of a 36-year-old professional female endurance cyclist who presented with lower extremity pain during training. Right external iliac artery endofibrosis was diagnosed and the patient underwent surgical treatment. At two-months follow-up, she reported significant improvement in symptoms. This case highlights the importance of diagnosing peripheral vascular disease in young patients and athletes, who do not fit the ordinary profile of patients with atherosclerotic risk factors.

Resumo A endofibrose da artéria ilíaca externa é uma doença rara que afeta atletas de resistência (endurance) de nível competitivo, principalmente ciclistas. Os sintomas clássicos incluem dor, perda de força e/ou câimbras no membro afetado ao fazer esforço máximo durante o treino. A ausência de fatores de risco ateroscleróticos nesses pacientes torna a suspeita clínica de arteriopatia desafiadora. Além disso, o melhor manejo ainda é motivo de debate. Relatamos o caso de uma ciclista de resistência profissional, de 36 anos, que apresentou dor nos membros inferiores durante o treino. Foi diagnosticada endofibrose da artéria ilíaca externa, e a paciente foi submetida a tratamento cirúrgico. Após seguimento por dois meses, a paciente relatou melhora significativa dos sintomas. Este caso destaca a importância do diagnóstico de doença vascular periférica em pacientes jovens e atletas, os quais não se encaixam no perfil comum do paciente com fatores de risco ateroscleróticos.

The relative peak power output of amateur mountain bikers is inversely correlated with body fat but not with fat-free mass

Abstract Aims: To evaluate whether body mass (BM) and body composition may influence mountain bike cycling performance. Methods: Forty male amateur mountain bikers attended the laboratory on two non-consecutive days. At the first visit, anthropometric measures (height, BM, body fat [BF], fat-free mass [FFM] and body mass index [BMI]) and familiarization to incremental cycling test were performed. On the second visit, cyclists performed again the incremental cycling test to measure peak power output (PPO), peak power output relative to BM (PPO-BM), and time to exhaustion (TE), which were posteriorly correlated with BM and anthropometric measures. Results: A low and moderate significant correlation were observed between TE and BM (p<0.01; r=0.40) and FFM (p<0.01; r=0.56). Moderate significant correlation was found between PPO and BM (p<0.01; r=0.45), BMI (p=0.03; r=0.35) and strong with FFM (p<0.01; r=0.59). Also, PPO-BM significantly correlated with BM (p=0.04; r=-0.31), BMI (p=0.02; r=-0.35) and BF (p<0.01; r=-0.55). No other significant correlations were observed. Conclusion: Considering PPO-BM as mainly performance variable, BM and BF can be a determining factor in mountain biking performance but FFM did not.