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Limitations of oxygen uptake and leg muscle activity during ascending evacuation in stairways

Halder, Amitava LU orcid ; Kuklane, Kalev LU ; Gao, Chuansi LU ; Miller, Michael LU ; Delin, Mattias LU ; Norén, Johan LU and Fridolf, Karl LU (2017) In Applied Ergonomics 66. p.52-63
Abstract
Stair ascending performance is critical during evacuation from buildings and underground infrastructures. Healthy subjects performed self-paced ascent in three settings: 13 floor building, 31 floor building, 33 m stationary subway escalator. To investigate leg muscle and cardiorespiratory capacities and how they constrain performance, oxygen uptake (VO2), heart rate (HR) and ascending speed were measured in all three; electromyography (EMG) in the first two. The VO2 and HR ranged from 89-96 % of the maximum capacity reported in the literature. The average highest VO2 and HR ranged from 39-41 mL·kg-1·min-1 and 162-174 b·min-1, respectively. The subjects were able to sustain their initial preferred maximum pace for a short duration, while... (More)
Stair ascending performance is critical during evacuation from buildings and underground infrastructures. Healthy subjects performed self-paced ascent in three settings: 13 floor building, 31 floor building, 33 m stationary subway escalator. To investigate leg muscle and cardiorespiratory capacities and how they constrain performance, oxygen uptake (VO2), heart rate (HR) and ascending speed were measured in all three; electromyography (EMG) in the first two. The VO2 and HR ranged from 89-96 % of the maximum capacity reported in the literature. The average highest VO2 and HR ranged from 39-41 mL·kg-1·min-1 and 162-174 b·min-1, respectively. The subjects were able to sustain their initial preferred maximum pace for a short duration, while the average step rate was 92-95 steps·min-1. In average, VO2 reached relatively stable values at ≈37 mL·kg-1·min-1. EMG amplitudes decreased significantly and frequencies were unchanged. Speed reductions indicate that climbing capacity declined in the process of fatigue development. In the two buildings, the reduction of muscle power allowed the subjects to extend their tolerance and complete ascents in the 48 m and 109 m high stairways in 2.9 and 7.8 minutes, respectively. Muscle activity interpretation squares were developed and proved advantageous to observe fatigue and recovery over time. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Physical capacity, Stair climbing, Oxygen consumption, Electromyography, Muscle fatigue
in
Applied Ergonomics
volume
66
pages
11 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85027714682
  • pmid:28958430
  • wos:000413281900006
ISSN
0003-6870
DOI
10.1016/j.apergo.2017.08.003
project
Physical work capacity and biomechanical aspects as limiting factors in challenging environments
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2c4dc110-87c6-4854-b985-156f6da6c07a
date added to LUP
2017-08-31 15:46:03
date last changed
2024-06-09 22:35:12
@article{2c4dc110-87c6-4854-b985-156f6da6c07a,
  abstract     = {{Stair ascending performance is critical during evacuation from buildings and underground infrastructures. Healthy subjects performed self-paced ascent in three settings: 13 floor building, 31 floor building, 33 m stationary subway escalator. To investigate leg muscle and cardiorespiratory capacities and how they constrain performance, oxygen uptake (VO2), heart rate (HR) and ascending speed were measured in all three; electromyography (EMG) in the first two. The VO2 and HR ranged from 89-96 % of the maximum capacity reported in the literature. The average highest VO2 and HR ranged from 39-41 mL·kg-1·min-1 and 162-174 b·min-1, respectively. The subjects were able to sustain their initial preferred maximum pace for a short duration, while the average step rate was 92-95 steps·min-1. In average, VO2 reached relatively stable values at ≈37 mL·kg-1·min-1. EMG amplitudes decreased significantly and frequencies were unchanged. Speed reductions indicate that climbing capacity declined in the process of fatigue development. In the two buildings, the reduction of muscle power allowed the subjects to extend their tolerance and complete ascents in the 48 m and 109 m high stairways in 2.9 and 7.8 minutes, respectively. Muscle activity interpretation squares were developed and proved advantageous to observe fatigue and recovery over time.}},
  author       = {{Halder, Amitava and Kuklane, Kalev and Gao, Chuansi and Miller, Michael and Delin, Mattias and Norén, Johan and Fridolf, Karl}},
  issn         = {{0003-6870}},
  keywords     = {{Physical capacity; Stair climbing; Oxygen consumption; Electromyography; Muscle fatigue}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  pages        = {{52--63}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Applied Ergonomics}},
  title        = {{Limitations of oxygen uptake and leg muscle activity during ascending evacuation in stairways}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2017.08.003}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.apergo.2017.08.003}},
  volume       = {{66}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}