Abstract
A 100-mile trail ultramarathon does significant damage to the musculoskeletal system. While subjective measures are commonly used to assess recovery from these events, objective measurements such as bioelectrical impedance (BEI) may offer validation and potentially insights into physiological changes happening during the recovery process. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine correlations between BEI data and subjective survey responses collected daily for one week before and after a 100-mile ultramarathon. METHODS: One participant (male, 47 years) completed daily assessments for one week before and after a 100-mile ultramarathon. All assessments were performed at 8:00 a.m., and the participant was instructed to not eat, exercise, or shower before coming to the lab. Subjective ratings of energy, ability to focus, sleep quality, hunger, difficulty performing activities of daily living, and orthopedic soreness were collected using visual analog scales in an online survey tool (Qualtrics XM). Body weight, body composition, and BEI variables were measured using a InBody 570 Body Composition Analyzer. All variables except ADL and soreness were normalized to z-scores using the means and standard deviations from the week prior to the ultramarathon, and linear regressions performed in JMP Student Edition 18.2.2 (JMP Statistical Discover LLC, Cary, NC) were used to assess the strength of the relationships between variables during the recovery week. RESULTS: Energy level exhibited a strong relationship with every BEI variable (R2 ranging from 0.521 – 0.695 and p-values ranging from 0.039 – 0.106), but the relationship between energy level and weight was stronger (R2 = 0.714, p = 0.034). BEI did not correlate strongly with the other subjective measure. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that BEI may be useful as an objective measure to support subjective assessments of recovery after an ultramarathon. However, the study's findings are limited by the single-participant design, which restricts generalizability. Future research should include larger sample sizes to validate these preliminary observations.
Recommended Citation
Bayait, Colin M.; Rosky, Thomas; Mastauskas, Rapolas; Colon, Samantha; Miranda, Aiden; and Wortley, Michael G.
(2025)
"Correlations Between Bioelectrical Impedance and Subjective Measures During Recovery from a 100-Mile Trail Ultramarathon,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 15:
Iss.
7, Article 24.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol15/iss7/24