Effects of Hydration Changes on Neuromuscular Function of Athletes
Effects of Hydration Changes on Neuromuscular Function of Athletes With Low Water Intake
Faculdade de Motricidade Humana
50 participants
Nov 1, 2021
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
Greater muscular strength and power are relevant qualities for athletic success and decreased injury rate. It is known that dehydration impairs muscular strength and power, although the explanation for this association is not entirely clear. Besides morphological factors, strength production also depends on neural factors which in turn can be affected by dehydration. Some studies tested the effects of dehydration on neuromuscular function using electromyography (EMG) analysis. However, there is no consensus among those studies. Additionally, exercise may disturb water balance. This can further lead to dehydration if the athlete does not properly rehydrate. In this sense, the scientific evidence has identified people who are considered low drinkers that may be more susceptible to cellular shrinkage, potentially impairing health and performance. Thus, it would be expected that athletes regularly exposed to lower amounts of water intake would have beneficial effects in both performance and health if higher water ingestion was promoted, namely an improved neuromuscular function via enhanced cellular hydration. However, any potential benefit of increasing water intake on neuromuscular function is still to be determined using well-designed experimental studies and state-of-the-art methods. Lastly, there is no consensus regarding the diagnosis of dehydration in athletes. The identification of simple indices to measure dehydration in athletes is crucial as many may be inaccurately diagnosed.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria6
- Highly trained athletes (i.e., participating in national and international championships and/or ≥6 h of training per week)
- Athletes considered low drinkers (i.e., total water intake ≤ 35ml/kg/)
- Aged between 18 and 35 years
- Living in Lisbon and/or its surroundings
- All women should have a (self-reported) normal menstrual cycle (i.e., cycles at median intervals of less than 35 days)
- Completion of the sport's medical examination
Exclusion Criteria16
- Total water intake above 35ml/kg/day.
- Clinical history compatible with exertional heat illness (i.e., heat stroke, heat exhaustion, hyperthermia, among other events that suggest poor response to thermically challenging environments)
- Taking medication known to alter the normal fluid-electrolyte balance, plasma osmolality, urinary osmolality, or the chronotropic response to exercise (e.g., diuretics, antidiuretics, laxatives, oral contraceptives, drugs to control blood pressure (39)
- Exhibiting self-reported metabolic disorders or malfunction of salivary glands
- Active smoking status
- Unwilling to abstain from alcohol during this study
- Respiratory disorders, including asthma
- Injuries that would limit exercise performance
- Mechanical prostheses
- Pregnancy /planning to get pregnant within the next 8 months
- Having been pregnant within the past 6 months or breastfeeding
- Failure to complete the dietary intake and physical activity recording
- Unable to communicate with local study staff
- Needle phobia
- Inability to complete the study within the designated time frame because of plans to move out of the study area or occurrence of competition periods during the study timeframe
- Inability to attend the visits/appointments and evaluation measurements
Interested in this trial?
Get notified about updates and connect with the research team.
Interventions
Participants randomly assigned to the experimental group will be instructed to maintain habitual solid food choices and to increase water intake to achieve a total water intake of ≥45ml/kg/day.
Locations(1)
View Full Details on ClinicalTrials.gov
For the most up-to-date information, visit the official listing.
NCT05380089