POWER AND ENDURANCE CYCLING PERFORMANCE: THE KINESIO-TAPING APPLICATION AND THE INFRARED THERMOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF MUSCULAR EFFORT

The present thesis has been written incorporating two different research lines involving the use of kinesio taping (KT) and the infrared thermography technology (IRT) in the field of physical exercise and performance analysis. Both topics are related to the involvement of cycling pattern in a laboratory environment assessing the role of skin behavior in terms of promotion (indirect) of muscle contraction and thermoregulation b KT and IRT, respectively. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of kinesio taping (KT) was helpful in increasing maximal-intensity cycling exercise. Sixteen active healthy subjects were enrolled in a randomized placebo, repeated measures design. All subjects were tested on a cycle ergometer under three conditions: without taping, taping along anterior thigh muscles, and sham taping across the same muscle groups. Results showed a significant increase in peak power output and total work after the longitudinally application compared to the condition with no tape applied (p<0.05). No significant difference was found between the two modes of application. Our findings indicated that the tactile stimulation of KT applied longitudinally provided positive effects during a sprint cycling performance in healthy and active subject. The aim of the second study was to assess skin temperature and pedaling imbalance in response to maximal incremental exercise in elite cyclists. Ten competitive elite cyclists underwent a cycling incremental test to exhaustion. Kinetic variables, such as peak crank torque and asymmetric index (AI) were taken into account for propulsion and recovery phases at the beginning and at the end of the test. Thermal images of the thighs’ frontal surfaces (captured by infrared thermography, IRT) were recorded before, immediately after and 3 and 6 min after the end of exercise. Cyclists showed a certain degree of symmetry in skin temperature presenting a significant reduction at the exhaustion point for both lower limb. As regard bilateral peak crank torques, a significant interaction was found in the propulsive phase across the time, even though the AI was < 10%. However, in the recovery phase, a remarkable value of AI > 10% was reported. Elite competitive cyclists showed bilateral asymmetry between propulsive peak crank torques in a state of extreme fatigue (i.e. at the exhaustion) with a low value of AI. On the other hand, skin temperature dynamics, measured by IRT, presented a certain degree of symmetry in both right and left limb in response to maximal incremental test. Future studies are need to determine the effective usefulness of IRT to monitor bilateral force asymmetry.