Thermal Responses to Exercise in Male Master Track & Field Athletes: Monitoring during Competition

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Exercise Physiology
• Thermoregulation

Background:

• Involutional changes can alter physical exercise capacity.
• Master athletes provide insights into physiological responses to aging and exercise.
• Understanding thermoregulatory responses in aging athletes is crucial for performance and health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of exercise on lower limb skin temperature in Master athletes.
• To compare thermoregulatory responses across different age categories of Master athletes.
• To investigate potential age-related differences in physiological responses to exercise.

Main Methods:

• Thermographic imaging used to measure skin surface temperature (Tsk).
• Measurements taken at rest and immediately post-exercise (warm-up and competition).
• Athletes categorized into three age groups: 35-45, 50-65, and 70+ years.

Main Results:

• Younger Master athletes (35-45) exhibited significant Tsk decreases post-exercise, particularly in rectus femoris muscles.
• Significant Tsk changes were noted in biceps femoris and gastrocnemius muscles in the youngest group.
• No statistically significant Tsk changes were observed in the 50-65 and 70+ age groups.

Conclusions:

• Exercise-induced skin temperature changes are most pronounced in younger Master athletes.
• Thermoregulatory responses seem relatively preserved with aging in trained individuals.
• Age-related differences in thermoregulation warrant further exploratory investigation due to non-significant inter-group findings.