Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Does Not Alter O₂ Uptake Kinetics during Heavy-Intensity Cycling in Humans

The purpose of this study was to determine if exercise-induced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) would alter O2 uptake kinetics during heavy cycling in 9 untrained females. O2 uptake kinetics were characterised during 8-min of constant-load cycling performed with and without DOMS. DOMS was caused by completing 30 min of bench-stepping at a rate of 15 steps.min(-1). Two days after bench stepping, all subjects reported significant leg muscle soreness. Both phase II kinetics (without DOMS tau1: 26.6 +/- 2.4 s; with DOMS tau1: 27.2 +/- 3.7 s) and the slow component amplitude (without DOMS: 277 +/- 15 mL.min(-1); with DOMS: 291 +/- 21 mL.min(-1)) were unaffected by DOMS. The change in blood lactate concentration from rest to end-exercise was significantly greater during exercise performed with DOMS. Eccentric exercise causing a moderate degree of DOMS does not appear to impact upon the mechanisms mediating phase II or the slow component of O2 uptake kinetics.