The Case Of Rachael Martin And Lactic Acid

Rachael Martin is an avid runner and athlete at a large university and has been given a scholarship to participate in women's track. Sometimes she is uncomfortable to the point of pain after her workouts. She reports that the pain is probably due to lactic acid accumulation which occurs more often in preseason, usually when she is not in shape. More recently, she reports that the soreness will occur in the midst of a particularly long and/or fast run when she is pushing herself beyond the normal training limits.

Lactic acid accumulation is not a daily occurrence for athletes, but when it does build up in the muscles, it can make a good, productive workout turn into an intensely agonizing experience in a matter of minutes! Rachael wants to understand more about lactic acid in muscles to improve her performance as an athlete.

What We Need to Know

Where does lactic acid come from during vigorous exercise?
What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration?
Why is lactic acid formed even when the athlete is breathing oxygen?
What is the final electron acceptor in aerobic respiration?
How is lactic acid buildup dealt with by the body?

Rachael was able to research the topic and found that she had a number of questions that needed to be answered. She discovered that the level of lactic acid build-up is correlated with the aerobic conditioning of the athlete. Lactic acid is produced in greater and lesser quantities every time the athlete's heart rate is significantly raised. An increase in fitness level does not necessarily ensure that the athlete will avoid lactic acid accumulation from time to time.

Lactic acid levels are not uniform among athletes. Various physiological factors come into play in individual athletes. A good coach must help the athlete to train in such a way that will promote optimal fitness without significant lactic acid buildup.

What We Need to Know

Does gender affect the accumulation of lactic acid? Why or why not?
Does body size affect accumulation of lactic acid? Why or why not?
What role does the athlete's cardiovascular fitness play in lactic acid buildup?
What are the physiological factors that may alter the amount of lactic acid accumulation in the same athlete?

Assignment

Make a concept map of the aerobic and anaerobic pathways.

RESOURCES

Craig, N.P. 1993. Aerobic and anaerobic indices contributing to track endurance cycling performance. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. Vol. 67:150-158.

Farrell, P.A. 1979. Plasma lactate accumulation and distance running performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Vol. 11:338-344.

Gullstrand, L. 1994. Blood sampling during continuous running and 30-second intervals on a treadmill. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. Vol. 4:239-242.

Oyono-Euguelle, S. 1990. Blood lactate during constant-load exercise at aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. Vol. 60:321-330.

Koutedakis, Yiannis, and N.P. Craig. 1985. Lactic acid removal and heart rate frequencies during recovery after strenuous rowing exercise. British Journal of Sports Medicine. Vol. 10(3):199-202.

Accusport--Lactate Testing for Sports Medicine and Training.

http://lactate.com/

http://members.aol.com/rayzwocker/worldclass/lactate.htm