A Novel Swimming Performance Test in Rats

Aristidis S. Veskoukis ； Antonios Kyparos ； Vassilis Paschalis ； Michalis G. Nikolaidis

《The Chinese Journal of Physiology》 61卷3期 (2018/06) Pp. 144-151

https://doi.org/10.4077/CJP.2018.BAG548

摘要

Swimming is an advantageous exercise modality since it induces limited muscle damage. Performance is a crucial endpoint measurement of physiological relevance in exercise physiology and clinical settings alike. To our knowledge, the literature lacks a comprehensive and widely accepted swimming performance protocol without suffering from high variability in time to exhaustion. Thus, the present study presents an easily carried out, two-phased swimming performance incremental test exhibiting low variability in the time to exhaustion among rats. All nine rats managed to complete the first 12 min-part of the test (phase 1) with gradually increased loads attached at the base of their tails equal to 2%, 3.5% and 5% (for 4 min each). All rats reached exhaustion at the 10% final load (phase 2). The mean swimming time until exhaustion, as a measure for defining exercise performance, was 865 ± 59 s. In conclusion, we have presented in detail a novel protocol for practically and satisfactorily measuring swimming performance in rats characterized by low variability in the time to exhaustion. This protocol, with the appropriate modifications, can be applied to a wide spectrum of experimental treatments.

關鍵字

exercise ； performance ； rats ； swimming ； test ； variability

參考文獻

Aoi, W.,Naito, Y.,Takanami, Y.,Kawai, Y.,Sakuma, K.,Ichikawa, H.,Yoshida, N.,Yoshikawa, T.(2014).Oxidative stress and delayed-onset muscle damage after exercise.Free Radic. Biol. Med..37,480-487.

Araujo, L.C.C.,Souza, I.L.L.,Vasconcelos, L.H.C.,Brito, A.F.,Queiroga, F.R.,Silva, A.S.,Silva, P.M.,Cavalcante, F.A.,Silva, B.A.(2015).Chronic aerobic swimming exercise promotes functional and morphological changes in rat ileum.Biosci. Rep..35,e00259.

Armstrong, R.B.,Ogilvie, R.W.,Schwane, J.A.(1983).Eccentric exercise-induced injury to rat skeletal muscle.J. Appl. Physiol. Respir. Environ. Exerc. Physiol..54,80-93.

Baker, M.A.,Horvath, S.M.(1964).Influence of water temperature on oxygen uptake by swimming rats.J. Appl. Physiol..19,1215-1218.

Booth, F.W.,Laye, M.J.(2009).Lack of adequate appreciation of physical exercise's complexities can pre-empt appropriate design and interpretation in scientific discovery.J. Physiol..87,5527-5539.