The prolonged exercise test.

The response to a standardized exercise test was investigated in 12 volunteers and 13 patients with aches, cramps, and pains. In men, creatine kinase (CK) levels peaked (up to 1600 mU per milliliter) between 10 and 20 hours after exercise. High levels of blood lactate during exercise were related to the intensity of work and to high levels of CK after exercise. The patients could be divided into several groups: (1) those with no change in blood metabolites (psychogenic); (2) those with a disproportionate rise in CK (metabolic myopathies); (3) those with a disproportionate rise of lactate (mitochondrial abnormalities); and (4) in one patient with exercise-related pains, subnormal elevation of fatty acid levels. The correlation of changes in blood lactate, CK, and fatty acids may be useful, whereas an isolated measurement, even if outside the normal range, is often meaningless.