(51) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOVEMENT EFFICIENCY AND OXYGEN CONSUMPTION IN ACTIVE-DUTY FIREFIGHTERS

There is growing research interest in maximizing and maintaining workability in firefighters, as job demands require near maximal levels of exertion and oxygen consumption. High levels of aerobic capacity and muscular strength and endurance have been linked to greater performance in simulated firefighting tasks. Furthermore, research indicates movement efficiency and balance are related to muscular strength in firefighter recruits, yet the relationship between movement efficiency and oxygen consumption is currently unknown in firefighters. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between movement efficiency and oxygen consumption in submaximal and maximal aerobic capacity protocols. METHODS: 10 (8 male, 2 female) active-duty firefighters (34.6 ± 8.99 yrs; 1.77 ± 0.06 m; 83.74 ± 12.99 kg) from a Midwestern metropolitan fire department volunteered to participate in the study.  Participants completed the Fusionetics^TM Movement Efficiency Screen (MES), a submaximal Forestry Step Test (FST), and a maximal treadmill (TM) test. Peak oxygen consumption was directly measured during the maximal TM test (VO_2PEAK-TM) and at the termination of the submaximal FST (VO_2FST). Heart rate was continuously monitored in each test with a chest strap and post-exercise heart rate was used to estimate peak oxygen consumption from the FST (VO_2PEAK-FST) according to test instructions. Pearson-product correlations examined the relationship between MES and VO_2PEAK-TM, VO_2PEAK-FST, VO_2FST, as well as the total TM test time (min). An alpha of p < 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance.

Results: Descriptive statistics are presented in Table 1. Correlation results indicated that MES was significantly related to VO_2FST (r = -0.789, p = .007), but not significantly related to VO_2PEAK-FST (r = -0.155, p</em> = 0.670) or VO_2PEAK-TM (r = -0.059, p = 0.870). There was a moderate, yet non-significant, relationship between MES and the TM test time (r = 0.353, p = 0.316). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that individuals with poor MES scores may have increased oxygen cost during submaximal stepping tasks, yet movement efficiency did not relate to ability to consume oxygen during a maximal running or estimated peak oxygen consumption from the FST. The positive moderate correlation between MES and TM test time, while not significant, may suggest that MES may not relate to maximal ability to consume oxygen, yet poor movement efficiency may be related to less time spent in a maximal task. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: These results suggest that for practitioners working with the firefighter population, improving movement efficiency may decrease the oxygen cost of a submaximal task and possibly extend the time a firefighter can perform near maximal work. Future research should investigate the relationship of movement efficiency to performance in job-specific ability tasks.

Acknowledgements: None