Contralateral fatigue during severe-intensity single-leg exercise: influence of acute acetaminophen ingestion

Abstract

Exhaustive single-leg exercise has been suggested to reduce time to task failure (Tlim) during subsequent exercise in the contralateral leg by exacerbating central fatigue development. We investigated the influence of acetaminophen (ACT), an analgesic that may blunt central fatigue development, on Tlim during single-leg exercise completed with and without prior fatiguing exercise of the contralateral leg. Fourteen recreationally active men performed single-leg severe-intensity knee-extensor exercise to Tlim on the left (Leg1) and right (Leg2) legs without prior contralateral fatigue and on Leg2 immediately following Leg1 (Leg2-CONTRA). The tests were completed following ingestion of 1-g ACT or maltodextrin [placebo (PL)] capsules. Intramuscular phosphorus-containing metabolites and substrates and muscle activation were assessed using 31P-MRS and electromyography, respectively. Tlim was not different between Leg1ACT and Leg1PL conditions (402 ± 101 vs. 390 ± 106 s, P = 0.11). There was also no difference in Tlim between Leg2ACT-CONTRA and Leg2PL-CONTRA (324 ± 85 vs. 311 ± 92 s, P = 0.10), but Tlim was shorter in Leg2ACT-CONTRA and Leg2PL-CONTRA than in Leg2CON (385 ± 104 s, both P < 0.05). There were no differences in intramuscular phosphorus-containing metabolites and substrates or muscle activation between Leg1ACT and Leg1PL and between Leg2ACT-CONTRA and Leg2PL-CONTRA (all P > 0.05). These findings suggest that levels of metabolic perturbation and muscle activation at Tlim are not different during single-leg severe-intensity knee-extensor exercise completed with or without prior fatiguing exercise of the contralateral leg. Despite contralateral fatigue, ACT ingestion did not alter neuromuscular responses, muscle metabolites, or exercise performance.