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Completed

NCT Number: NCT01127191

Effect of Prolonged Military Exercises With High Load Carriage, on Neuromuscular Fatigue and Physiological/Biomechanical Responses

Land military missions generally combine prolonged walking/moderate-pace-running and other physical actions such as creeping, jumping, shooting,… which are associated with the direct carrying of high to severe loads of equipment and supplies (20-30 to 50 kg) by soldiers. For an infantry section, "typical" intervention phases last about 20-24 h and combine variable intensity grades. Consequently, military mission characteristics are an interesting investigation field of human fatigue. Previous studies have investigated human neuromuscular alterations after prolonged "normal" locomotion exercises [Millet et al., 2004, 2009], thus the aim of this study is to characterize the neuromuscular determinants of fatigue induced by a 24-h Simulated Military Effort (SME) and a 4-h Military Road March (MM), both performed with high load carriage. Additionally, the consequences of fatigue on physiological and biomechanical parameters of locomotion will be investigated.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy

Age range

30 year–45 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Observational

Primary location

CHU de Saint-Etienne

Saint-Etienne, 42055, France

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • to be a male
  • to have a VO2max > 45ml/min/kg (mean observed value in military subjects)
  • to be aged from 30 to 45
  • to be recently retreated from National Army
  • to be highly experienced in military efforts
  • to be trained in exercises involving load carrying
  • to benefit from a social security insurance

Exclusion criteria

  • All subjects with recent (< 3 month) bone, articular or muscle diseases.
  • All subjects presenting a clinic sign of intolerance to testing procedures, especially subjects with knee, ankle, hip or back diseases.
  • All subjects intolerant to muddy or wooded environment.
  • All subjects presenting a clinic sign of intolerance to exercise, and particularly to running or walking while carrying a load
  • All subjects involved at the same time in another medical research
  • All subjects militarily active
  • All subjects with cardiac or pulmonary identified and known diseases

Treatment and study plan

military equipment

Other

Military exercise of 24 hours

Primary outcomes

  1. Central fatigue quantification based on voluntary and electrically-induced force measurement on activated muscle.

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

  2. Peripheral fatigue based on electrically-induced force measurement on the same muscle in relaxed condition.

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

Secondary outcomes

  1. Oxygen uptake, carbon-dioxide output, energetic-cost of locomotion and respiratory ratio, based on subject's gas exchanges.

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

  2. Lactatemia, based on subject's arterialized capillary blood samples analysis

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

  3. Muscular electrical activities, based on subject's surface EMG analysis

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

  4. Heart rate frequence

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

  5. Walking and running mechanics, measured by an instrumented treadmill

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

  6. Postural equilibration, measured by a piezo-dynamometric double platform

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

  7. Rate of perceived exertion, measured by the Borg scale ranging from 6 to 20

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

  8. Perceived comfort, measured by a 10 cm visual analogic scale (VAS)

    Time frame: after a a military exercise of 24 hours

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2010
Primary completion
2010
Study completion
2010
First posted
May 20, 2010
Registry last updated
Jul 25, 2012

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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