Blood lactate concentrations during exercise: effect of sampling site and exercise mode.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the study was to compare blood lactate concentrations determined in blood sampled from three sites (finger capillary, ear-lobe capillary, and forearm vein) during exercise on three different ergometers (a cycle ergometer, a treadmill and an arm-crank ergometer).

METHODS

A total of 312 well-trained subjects performed either a six-minute steady-state exercise (n = 219) or an incremental exercise test until exhaustion (n = 93). Blood was sampled from two sites after each exercise test and at the end of each stage of the incremental protocol, 852 pairs of blood samples were analysed.

RESULTS

Results showed that, when exercise was performed on a cycle ergometer or a treadmill, no significant differences between venous and ear capillary samples were observed whereas finger capillary values were higher. On an arm-crank ergometer, venous and finger capillary lactate concentrations were usually higher than ear capillary values with some discrepancies depending on the times of sampling.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that lactate values may differ depending on the sampling site and the type of exercise mode. An ear capillary sample may be preferred because it is less affected by lactate release in the arms and easier to obtain.