Verification of fingertip blood lactate measurement as an index of muscle fatigue recovery.
Satomi Okano, Haruka Miura, Mizuki Sakamoto and 1 others
PMID 39902309WHAT IT FOUND
After one-arm exercise, blood lactate measured from the working and non-working fingertips did not differ.
The non-working hand peaked about 90 seconds later, so timing matters.
Key findings
01Blood lactate was higher after unilateral wrist exercise than before exercise in both the working and non-working limbs.
02Left and right fingertip blood lactate did not differ immediately or at 90, 180, or 270 seconds after exercise.
03Blood lactate peaked immediately after exercise in the working limb and 90 seconds after in the non-working limb.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was done in 40 healthy young men, not in patients with pitcher's shoulder or tennis elbow, so it does not show the method works in injured athletes. The left and right fingertip punctures were not simultaneous because participants punctured themselves, so small timing differences may affect the comparison. The simple analyzer could not separate blood lactate from sweat lactate, although the authors tried to avoid sweat. The study did not assess central fatigue, and the authors note the decrease in maximum voluntary contraction may still indicate it.
Declared interests
This research was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (19K12862 to H.N. and 22K17537 to S.O.). No other conflict of interest declaration is given in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that fingertip blood lactate is a validated clinical index of recovery in injured athletes. It was tested only in healthy young men, and the left and right fingertip samples were not punctured at the same time.