Muscle Fatigue & Soreness From Lactic Acid
Many people commonly, but wrongly, view lactic acid as a waste product that causes fatigue and muscle soreness. However, while lactic acid production often accompanies fatigue, it does not directly cause tired muscles, nor is it responsible for the muscle soreness you may feel a day or two after your workout. In fact, rather than being a waste product, lactic acid is an important energy source for your body both during and after your workout. Video of the Day Lactic Acid Production During very intense exercise, your circulatory system cannot keep up with your muscles' demand for oxygen. To maintain a steady supply of energy, muscles shift from aerobic metabolism, which requires oxygen, to anaerobic metabolism, which does not. Muscles can break down carbohydrates anaerobically to provide energy, resulting in a compound called pyruvate. When oxygen is available, pyruvate can be further broken down aerobically to provide more energy. But when sufficient oxygen is not available, pyruvate is converted into lactic acid. Lactic Acid and Fatigue Lactic acid is rapidly broken down into a compound called lactate, resulting in the release of hydrogen ions. Your body can clear lactate by metabolizing it for energy, but when lactate production exceeds the clearance rate, it accumulates in your muscles and bloodstream. While rising levels of lactate are associated with tired muscles, lactate does not actually cause fatigue. Rather, it is the increased acidity in your tissues, due to the buildup of hydrogen ions, that contributes to the sensation of fatigue. Lactic acid may cause a temporary burning sensation in your muscles while you're working out. However, contrary to popular belief, it is not responsible for delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, which is muscle soreness that typ Continue reading >>
Six Lies You Were Taught About Lactic Acid
Everything you’ve learned up to this point is wrong. Lactic acid is nasty stuff. Your muscles produce it during intense exercise. It’s a metabolic byproduct that makes no contribution to exercise performance. It causes muscle fatigue and post-exercise muscle soreness. No wonder the best endurance athletes don’t produce as much lactic acid. Actually, none of the above statements is true. Recent research has demonstrated that lactic acid is not what we once though it was, in almost every way. Read on, and learn the truth behind the lies you’ve been told. Lie #1: Muscles Produce Lactic Acid During Exercise The muscles do not produce lactic acid during exercise. They produce a very similar compound called lactate. Whatever you call it, this substance is not produced as a waste product of anaerobic metabolism, as once believed. It’s actually an intermediate link between anaerobic and aerobic metabolism. Lie #2: Lactic Acid Causes Muscle Fatigue Most athletes believe that lactate (as we’ll call it from now on) causes muscle fatigue by making the muscles too acidic to contract effectively. This is not true. While the muscles do become more acidic during exercise, lactate is not the cause. In any case, far from hastening fatigue, lactate accumulation in the muscles actually delays fatigue by mitigating the effects of a phenomenon known as depolarization. During intense exercise, your muscles lose power in the same way a battery does: by becoming depolarized. The accumulation of lactate in muscle tissue during intense exercise partly counteracts the effect of depolarization. Lie #3: Lactic Acid Causes Soreness Lactate does not cause post-exercise muscle soreness. The simplest proof of this is the fact that very little lactate is produced during highly prolonged, low- Continue reading >>
Acid Buildup In The Muscles
Lactic acid, or lactate, is a substance produced in your muscles when you need to move quickly or engage in certain other types of physical exertion. The buildup of this substance triggers pain in active muscles and decreases your chances of causing long-term muscle damage. After muscle exertion ends, your body quickly removes lactic acid from your system. Video of the Day Lactic Acid Buildup When you perform most forms of aerobic exercise, your body fuels your efforts with extra oxygen provided by increases in your breathing and blood flow. However, if you need to sprint, move quickly or lift heavy weights, your body fuels your efforts with glucose, a pure sugar substance derived from carbohydrates in your diet. To gain energy from glucose, your body breaks it down into another substance called pyruvate. Pyruvate is turned into lactic acid, which allows your muscles to continue working for roughly one to three minutes as it quickly builds up. Lactic Acid Effects When lactic acid builds up in your muscles, the increased acidity levels trigger a kind of feedback loop that disrupts efficient energy production. In turn, this disruption triggers a burning sensation inside your active muscles. Taken as a whole, this process acts as a natural safeguard for your body by stopping your efforts before you permanently damage your muscle tissue. Once you stop exerting yourself, your muscles go back to producing pyruvate. When you don’t require pyruvate to burn glucose, your body uses the substance to help you burn oxygen and recover from your muscular efforts. If too much lactic acid builds up in your bloodstream, you can develop a medical condition called lactic acidosis. Symptoms of this disorder include weakness and nausea. In addition to intense physical exertion, potential c Continue reading >>
Lactic Acidosis
Lactic acidosis is a medical condition characterized by the buildup of lactate (especially L-lactate) in the body, which results in an excessively low pH in the bloodstream. It is a form of metabolic acidosis, in which excessive acid accumulates due to a problem with the body's metabolism of lactic acid. Lactic acidosis is typically the result of an underlying acute or chronic medical condition, medication, or poisoning. The symptoms are generally attributable to these underlying causes, but may include nausea, vomiting, rapid deep breathing, and generalised weakness. The diagnosis is made on biochemical analysis of blood (often initially on arterial blood gas samples), and once confirmed, generally prompts an investigation to establish the underlying cause to treat the acidosis. In some situations, hemofiltration (purification of the blood) is temporarily required. In rare chronic forms of lactic acidosis caused by mitochondrial disease, a specific diet or dichloroacetate may be used. The prognosis of lactic acidosis depends largely on the underlying cause; in some situations (such as severe infections), it indicates an increased risk of death. Classification[edit] The Cohen-Woods classification categorizes causes of lactic acidosis as:[1] Type A: Decreased tissue oxygenation (e.g., from decreased blood flow) Type B B1: Underlying diseases (sometimes causing type A) B2: Medication or intoxication B3: Inborn error of metabolism Signs and symptoms[edit] Lactic acidosis is commonly found in people who are unwell, such as those with severe heart and/or lung disease, a severe infection with sepsis, the systemic inflammatory response syndrome due to another cause, severe physical trauma, or severe depletion of body fluids.[2] Symptoms in humans include all those of typical m Continue reading >>
Science Fact Or Science Fiction? Lactic Acid Buildup Causes Muscle Fatigue And Soreness
Anyone who has pushed themselves through an intense workout will be familiar with “feeling the burn” — that sensation of fatigue and pain that sets in when you subject your muscles to lifting heavy loads repeatedly or sprinting all-out. This burning sensation is associated with a buildup of acid in the muscles during intense exercise, and lactic acid has long been thought to be the culprit in that acid buildup, known as acidosis. Lactic acid is a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism, in which the body produces energy without using oxygen. Since the discovery of lactic acid, the popular notion has been that it is responsible for muscle fatigue and also tissue damage induced by the lactic acid following an intense workout. In fact, that was the generally accepted explanation even in the scientific community until the 1970s. But what does science say about whether lactic acid is indeed the culprit in muscle fatigue and what’s known as delayed onset muscle soreness? When the body taps into anaerobic metabolism, it uses the body’s supply of stored sugars, known as glycogen, without the need for oxygen. One of the byproducts of burning glycogen — a process known as glycolysis — is lactic acid. It was German physician Otto Meyerhof who showed, using frog legs in an air-tight jar, that lactic acid was formed from muscle glycogen in the absence of oxygen. This research eventually led to him, along with another pioneer in the field, British physiologist Archibald Hill, receiving the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1922. The experiments using frog legs showed that using electric pulses to make the legs contract produced lactic acid in the muscles, and that they stopped contracting after repeated stimulations — leading to the theory that lactic acid was respo Continue reading >>
Lactic Acidosis: What You Need To Know
Lactic acidosis is a form of metabolic acidosis that begins in the kidneys. People with lactic acidosis have kidneys that are unable to remove excess acid from their body. If lactic acid builds up in the body more quickly than it can be removed, acidity levels in bodily fluids — such as blood — spike. This buildup of acid causes an imbalance in the body’s pH level, which should always be slightly alkaline instead of acidic. There are a few different types of acidosis. Lactic acid buildup occurs when there’s not enough oxygen in the muscles to break down glucose and glycogen. This is called anaerobic metabolism. There are two types of lactic acid: L-lactate and D-lactate. Most forms of lactic acidosis are caused by too much L-lactate. Lactic acidosis has many causes and can often be treated. But if left untreated, it may be life-threatening. The symptoms of lactic acidosis are typical of many health issues. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should contact your doctor immediately. Your doctor can help determine the root cause. Several symptoms of lactic acidosis represent a medical emergency: fruity-smelling breath (a possible indication of a serious complication of diabetes, called ketoacidosis) confusion jaundice (yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes) trouble breathing or shallow, rapid breathing If you know or suspect that you have lactic acidosis and have any of these symptoms, call 911 or go to an emergency room right away. Other lactic acidosis symptoms include: exhaustion or extreme fatigue muscle cramps or pain body weakness overall feelings of physical discomfort abdominal pain or discomfort diarrhea decrease in appetite headache rapid heart rate Lactic acidosis has a wide range of underlying causes, including carbon monoxide poisoni Continue reading >>
Sore Muscles And Lactic Acid, Concerning Exercise Pain
I go to the gym to lift weights around 4-5 times per week. I’m writing this blog approximately 48 hours after I fully exerted myself, working my chest muscles. Because it was a particularly lengthy workout, I am still experiencing some muscle discomfort and soreness. I’m using this blog to determine the causes of muscle soreness from strenuous exercise and examine how the human body reacts to exercise. Firstly, let’s differentiate between the 3 types of exercise pain. There is pain experienced either during or immediately after exercise, delayed-onset muscle soreness, and pain brought upon by muscle cramps. The first and third types of pain are rather self-explanatory, however, delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is an entirely different beast. DOMS is induced only by extreme muscle lengthening during exercise, and is not felt during exercise. Some prime examples of when one might experience DOMS include tightness after running downhill or lifting heavy weights, marking it as the type of soreness I am currently undergoing. During exercise the human body does all sorts of things to try and regulate bodily functions. There are many common misconceptions about the buildup of lactic acid, including that it is the culprit for muscle soreness. Rather, there are several steps the body goes through to produce and cleanse the system of lactic acid. As we being to work out, the body strives to bring in more oxygen, so our muscles can function aerobically. However, there comes a time when the oxygen is not enough to fuel the muscles. At that point, muscles need to continue to function without the help of oxygen. The solution? Muscles begin to operate anaerobically, that is, work by breaking down sugars instead of relying on oxygen. This process causes the production of lact Continue reading >>
Debunking The Myths About Lactic Acid, Fatigue And Recovery
Lactic acid. Also know as the “burn” you feel on that last rep or final sprint, most athletes see it as a workout’s worst enemy, the cause of muscle soreness and fatigue. But what if everything you learned was wrong? Even at the highest levels of sport, misunderstandings about this natural compound occur. In the early stages of the Tour de France—after the race but before he donned the Yellow Jersey—Chris Froome was seen backstage pedaling on a trainer and cooling down. Former cyclists and stellar commentator Bob Roll explained that Froome was “getting the lactic acid” out of his legs so he would be less fatigued for the next day’s ride. Encapsulated in these comments are a whole bunch of misconceptions about lactic acid, fatigue and even recovery. It’s time we learn the truth and get to know the real lactic acid. Lactic acid is gone in minutes Lactic acid is made of two parts: the acid and the lactate molecule. Below is a slide from a classic study done in the late 1930s from the Harvard Fatigue Lab showing how fast lactic acid disappears from your blood (and muscles) after exercise. The units used in the 1930s are different from today’s measurements—10 mg% is equal to a modern value of about 1 millimoles/L. But the slide shows that after heavy exercise the lactic acid levels are back down to baseline within about an hour. It is true that it goes down faster with either walking or jogging, but it also goes down pretty fast if you do nothing. The other thing to remember that in events lasting hours, such as most stages of the Tour de France, it is unlikely that the muscle are producing a whole lot of lactic acid after four or five hours of cycling. Lactic acid is not evil and your muscles are not anaerobic Over the last 30 or 40 years one of the wo Continue reading >>
Lactic Acidosis
The buildup of lactic acid in the bloodstream. This medical emergency most commonly results from oxygen deprivation in the body’s tissues, impaired liver function, respiratory failure, or cardiovascular disease. It can also be caused by a class of oral diabetes drugs called biguanides, which includes metformin (brand name Glucophage). Another biguanide called phenformin was pulled from the market in the United States in 1977 because of an unacceptably high rate of lactic acidosis associated with its use. Concerns about lactic acidosis also delayed the introduction of metformin to the U.S. market until 1995, despite the fact that it had been widely used for years in other countries. There have been reports of lactic acidosis occurring in people taking metformin, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates that lactic acidosis occurs in 5 out of every 100,000 people who use metformin for any length of time. However, this risk is much lower than it was in people taking phenformin, and it is not clear whether the episodes of lactic acidosis associated with metformin have actually been due to metformin use. In fact, the lactic acidosis could have been explained by the person’s diabetes and related medical conditions. Nonetheless, diabetes experts recommend that metformin not be used in people with congestive heart failure, kidney disease, or liver disease. They also recommend that it be discontinued (at least temporarily) in people undergoing certain medical imaging tests called contrast studies. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired or having unusual muscle pain or unusual stomach discomfort. Continue reading >>
How To Reduce Lactic Acid Build Up In Muscles
Reader Approved Three Parts:Understanding Lactic AcidReducing Lactic Acid During a WorkoutReducing Lactic Acid Through Your DietCommunity Q&A Lactic acid is released into the muscles when they have used up their normal energy stores but still have intense energy needs. Small amounts of lactic acid operate as a temporary energy source, thus helping you avoid fatigue during a workout. However, a buildup of lactic acid during a workout can create burning sensations in the muscles that can slow down or halt your athletic activity. For this reason, it may be desirable to reduce lactic acid build up in the muscles. This wikiHow will show you how to do this. 1 Understand that lactic acid does not cause muscle soreness after a workout. Lactic acid is often wrongly accused of being responsible for the post-workout muscle soreness experienced 1 to 3 days after a hard workout. However, new research shows that lactic acid (which operates as a temporary fuel source during intense physical activity) washes out of the system within an hour of the end of a workout, so it cannot be responsible for the pain felt days later. The latest theory suggests that this muscle pain -- also known as delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS -- is the result of damage to the muscle cells during intense exercise. This causes inflammation, swelling and tenderness as the muscles repair themselves.[1] In order to reduce muscle soreness after a workout, it is necessary to do a proper warm up before exercising. This wakes up the muscles and prepares them for physical activity. It is also important to avoid pushing yourself past your physical limit and to build up your workouts gradually instead. 2 Understand that lactic acid causes the burning sensation during a workout. On the other hand, built-up lactic aci Continue reading >>
Everything You Know About Lactic Acid Is Wrong
Do you want to lose weight, build muscle, or feel more fit? Join Beachbody On Demand, and get unlimited access to Beachbody’s world-famous programs, including 21 Day FIX®, CORE DE FORCE®, and P90X®. Don’t miss out on your chance for amazing results. Sign up today! For a semi-serious athlete, Jeremy Rosenberg is not unusual. The Los Angeles-based book editor is a weekend warrior on the city’s soccer fields, but says he pays for it after most games. “A couple of hours after I play I feel like what I imagine a whirling dervish does: A post-ecstatic mental state combined with being totally physically drained,” says Rosenberg. “As long as I don’t stop playing, I feel great. But stopping means soreness.” Rosenberg and his fellow players don’t pretend to be physical therapists or exercise scientists, but they confidently throw around the same term to explain their aching muscles: Lactic acid buildup. Ah, lactic acid, the much maligned (and misunderstood) participant in the body’s metabolic energy systems. But Rosenberg and his mates can be forgiven: Many trainers and even some physicians make the same mistake, blaming lactic acid not only for the deep muscle burn felt during exercise and the intense ache afterwards, but also for calling it lactic acid in the first place. “One of the long-standing myths in exercise science and popular culture is that lactic acid causes fatigue,” explains Lance Dalleck, an assistant professor of exercise and sport science at Western State Colorado University. The only problem is that the body doesn’t produce lactic acid, not even during intense exercise. “Lactic acid only exists in sour milk,” says Dalleck, “and blood and sour milk have markedly different mediums.” What People Actually Mean by “Lactic Acid Continue reading >>
Why Does Lactic Acid Build Up In Muscles? And Why Does It Cause Soreness?
As our bodies perform strenuous exercise, we begin to breathe faster as we attempt to shuttle more oxygen to our working muscles. The body prefers to generate most of its energy using aerobic methods, meaning with oxygen. Some circumstances, however—such as evading the historical saber tooth tiger or lifting heavy weights—require energy production faster than our bodies can adequately deliver oxygen. In those cases, the working muscles generate energy anaerobically. This energy comes from glucose through a process called glycolysis, in which glucose is broken down or metabolized into a substance called pyruvate through a series of steps. When the body has plenty of oxygen, pyruvate is shuttled to an aerobic pathway to be further broken down for more energy. But when oxygen is limited, the body temporarily converts pyruvate into a substance called lactate, which allows glucose breakdown—and thus energy production—to continue. The working muscle cells can continue this type of anaerobic energy production at high rates for one to three minutes, during which time lactate can accumulate to high levels. A side effect of high lactate levels is an increase in the acidity of the muscle cells, along with disruptions of other metabolites. The same metabolic pathways that permit the breakdown of glucose to energy perform poorly in this acidic environment. On the surface, it seems counterproductive that a working muscle would produce something that would slow its capacity for more work. In reality, this is a natural defense mechanism for the body; it prevents permanent damage during extreme exertion by slowing the key systems needed to maintain muscle contraction. Once the body slows down, oxygen becomes available and lactate reverts back to pyruvate, allowing continued aero Continue reading >>
Sports Med Insights: Does Lactic Acid Cause Muscle Soreness?
There is belief among athletes and active people that lactic acid is responsible for delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), or the general muscle soreness experienced 1 to 2 days following intense exercise. However, this is not the case. Lactic acid is produced in our body as we break down glucose or glycogen (what our muscles use for energy) during exercise. This lactic acid production is what’s responsible for the burning sensation we experience in our muscles during high intensity exercise. The accumulation of lactic acid can be attributed to a few reasons including low muscle oxygen and the recruitment of fast twitch muscle fibers. First, as our exercise increases to a high intensity, we are unable to take in and process enough oxygen for our working muscles. This lack of sufficient oxygen is termed anaerobic exercise. If the exercise is to continue at this level we will soon reach a point where our blood lactic levels are high and our glucose/glycogen are low leading to muscle fatigue. Second, our muscles are made up of slow and fast twitch fibers. Slow twitch muscle fibers are used for endurance activities such as long distance running. Conversely, fast twitch fibers are used for explosive activities including jumping and sprinting. Fast twitch fibers contain enzymes that promote the formation of lactic acid at a quicker rate as compared to slow twitch fibers. Therefore, when we engage in exercises that use these fast twitch fibers our lactic acid levels raise. Upon accumulation of lactic acid in the blood, studies indicate levels return to a resting level within 60 minutes following exercise. Therefore, it is unlikely lactic acid is responsible for DOMS 1 to 2 days after high intensity exercise. How can we speed the removal of lactic acid from our blood? This ca Continue reading >>
Lactic Acidosis And Exercise: What You Need To Know
Muscle ache, burning, rapid breathing, nausea, stomach pain: If you've experienced the unpleasant feeling of lactic acidosis, you likely remember it. It's temporary. It happens when too much acid builds up in your bloodstream. The most common reason it happens is intense exercise. Symptoms The symptoms may include a burning feeling in your muscles, cramps, nausea, weakness, and feeling exhausted. It's your body's way to tell you to stop what you're doing The symptoms happen in the moment. The soreness you sometimes feel in your muscles a day or two after an intense workout isn't from lactic acidosis. It's your muscles recovering from the workout you gave them. Intense Exercise. When you exercise, your body uses oxygen to break down glucose for energy. During intense exercise, there may not be enough oxygen available to complete the process, so a substance called lactate is made. Your body can convert this lactate to energy without using oxygen. But this lactate or lactic acid can build up in your bloodstream faster than you can burn it off. The point when lactic acid starts to build up is called the "lactate threshold." Some medical conditions can also bring on lactic acidosis, including: Vitamin B deficiency Shock Some drugs, including metformin, a drug used to treat diabetes, and all nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS can cause lactic acidosis. If you are on any of these medications and have any symptoms of lactic acidosis, get medical help immediately. Preventing Lactic Acidosis Begin any exercise routine gradually. Pace yourself. Don't go from being a couch potato to trying to run a marathon in a week. Start with an aerobic exercise like running or fast walking. You can build up your pace and distance slowly. Increase the Continue reading >>
Fibromyalgia - Possible Causes And Implications For Treatment
Contents 1 How energy is produced in cells 2 So what goes wrong in fibromyalgia? 3 So why this switch into glycolysis? 4 Implications for Treatment 5 See Also 5.1 Related articles 5.2 External links Fibromyalgia is just a symptom - it just means pain in the muscles. It occurs very commonly with chronic fatigue syndrome because I suspect the underlying causes are similar. How energy is produced in cells All cells require energy in order to work. There are two ways that they can get their energy. Normally energy is supplied to cells by mitochondria (little organelles within cells), which supply energy in the form of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) via a process called Oxidative Phosphorylation. This process requires oxygen, is extremely efficient and is the way in which the vast majority of energy is produced for the vast majority of time. You might enjoy watching a very interesing presentation on oxidative phosphorylation published on the website of Purdue University, Indiana. (Details in External Links below) The second way in which cells can get energy is through Glycolysis. From an evolutionary point of view this is a very much more primitive way of supplying energy. It does not require oxygen, it just needs sugar. It is extremely inefficient and the result of glycolysis is the production of large amounts of lactic acid. All athletes recognise the moment when they switch from aerobic metabolism (requiring oxygen) via mitochondria to anaerobic metabolism (glycolysis) resulting in a build up of lactic acid. It is this build up of lactic acid that causes the pain, heaviness, feeling of exhaustion, deadened muscles, and 'muscles will not work or go any faster' sensation. I am also interested in this idea because in horses there is a condition known as azoturia (tying up), wh Continue reading >>
