Muscle Oxygen Desaturation and Re-Saturation Capacity Limits in Repeated Sprint Ability Performance in Women Soccer Players: A New Physiological Interpretation

Muscle oxygen consumption could provide information on oxidative metabolism in women soccer players. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze muscle oxygenation dynamics during repeated sprint ability (RSA): (8 sprint × 20 s recovery) by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The sample was made up of 38 professional women soccer players. To measure the external load, the best time, worst time, average time, individual speed, sprint decrement, and power were assessed. In connection with the internal load, the desaturation (sprint) and re-saturation (recovery) rates, as well as the oxygen extraction (∇%SmO(2)) in the gastrocnemius muscle and maximum heart rate (%HRmax) were measured. A repeated measures statistic was applied based on the inter-individual response of each subject from the baseline versus the other sprints, with linear regression and nonlinear regression analyses between variables. There was an increase in the SmO(2): desaturation rate after four sprints (Δ = 32%), in the re-saturation rate after six sprints (Δ = 89%), and in ∇%SmO(2) after four sprints (Δ = 72.1%). There was a linear association between the rates of desaturation and re-saturation relationships and the worst time (r = 0.85), and a non-linear association between ∇%SmO(2) and speed (r = 0.89) and between ∇%SmO2 and the sprint decrease (r = 0.93). The progressive increase in SmO(2) during RSA is a performance limitation to maintain a high speed; it depends on the capacity of fatigue resistance. Therefore, monitoring the muscle oxygenation dynamics could be a useful tool to evaluate the performance in women soccer players.