Open Access

Marvin Winkler, Stefan Künzell, Claudia Augste

• Purpose Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a valid and reliable method to assess forearm muscle oxygenation in sport climbing, focusing on evaluating single parameters. The study assessed the predictive value of various NIRS parameters in climbing-specifc settings, during intermittent fnger endurance testing and in a simulated climbing competition. Methods 52 recreational climbers (28.5±6.3 y) performed an intermittent fnger endurance test and 10 competitive climbers (20.2±6.3 y) participated in a simulated lead climbing competition. Continuous-wave NIRS were used to assess oxygenation and blood volume changes. Results NIRS parameters predicted 26.4% of the variance in the intermittent test, with mean minima and maxima of O2Hb and mean maxima of TSI% of the single repetitions being the predictors. No signifcant diferences existed between the last valid and the frst nonvalid repetition on the combined dependent variable. For the simulated competition, a statisticallyPurpose Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a valid and reliable method to assess forearm muscle oxygenation in sport climbing, focusing on evaluating single parameters. The study assessed the predictive value of various NIRS parameters in climbing-specifc settings, during intermittent fnger endurance testing and in a simulated climbing competition. Methods 52 recreational climbers (28.5±6.3 y) performed an intermittent fnger endurance test and 10 competitive climbers (20.2±6.3 y) participated in a simulated lead climbing competition. Continuous-wave NIRS were used to assess oxygenation and blood volume changes. Results NIRS parameters predicted 26.4% of the variance in the intermittent test, with mean minima and maxima of O2Hb and mean maxima of TSI% of the single repetitions being the predictors. No signifcant diferences existed between the last valid and the frst nonvalid repetition on the combined dependent variable. For the simulated competition, a statistically signifcant diference between the 20 s intervals on the combined dependent variables was found with posthoc testing showing signifcant univariate within-subjects efects for HHb, tHb & TSI, but not for O2Hb. Conclusion The results indicate that for the intermittent test, high re- and deoxygenation abilities, and for the climbing competition, the accumulation of HHb concentration levels have the highest predictability.…