[Relevance of lactate determination in sports medicine]

In the last years increasing attention has been paid to specific changes of muscle metabolism during physical exertion in the diagnosis of physical performance. Lactate resp. lactic acid, being the terminal product of anaerobic glycolysis, has gained a central position in that field of sports medicine. Measuring lactate concentration level in arterialized capillary blood (drawn from the earlobe) one can investigate both the onset of anaerobic-lactic energy production during increasing work load (aerobic-anaerobic transition) and the maximal amount of anaerobic energy formation during short periods of exhausting work. In this way, using suitable work load protocols, the aerobic capacity (endurance capacity) on the one hand and the anaerobic capacity on the other hand can be determined. Therefore the most prominent components of energy production in working muscle and physical performance in general are accessible by measurement of blood lactate concentration level.