Bilateral NIRS measurements of muscle mitochondrial capacity: Feasibility and repeatability

Non-invasive determination of mitochondrial capacity via near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) typically involves voluntary exercise of a single muscle group followed by as many as 26 brief ischemic cuff occlusions to determine a single recovery rate constant (k).

To determine the within- and between-visit repeatability of a shortened bilateral NIRS protocol, and to establish the feasibility of hamstring k measurements.

Sixteen young (eight women, eight men; 22 ± 3 years) active adults underwent a bilateral electrical stimulation protocol in which multiple (n = 4) measurements of k for the vastus lateralis (VL) and medial hamstring (MH) muscles were determined on two visits. Repeatability (CV% and intraclass correlations, ICC) and equivalency across visits were assessed for both muscles.

Mean k values in the VL were consistent with published values and within-visit ICCs were moderately high for both muscles in both sexes. In men, average k values on visit 2 were within 1% (VL muscle) and 5% (MH muscle) of the values on visit 1 (all p > 0.78). In women, average k values were 10%-15% lower on visit 2 (p = 0.01 and p = 0.15 for MH and VL) with the largest between-visit differences in a subset of participants with the most days between visits.

This bilateral NIRS protocol is time efficient and provides valid estimates of k in both sexes and muscle groups with acceptable within-visit repeatability. Lower than expected between-visit repeatability in some participants reinforces the need for further investigation of this newly developed protocol to identify and control for experimental and behavioral sources of variation.