Fatigue, Recovery and Rehabilitation

What Fatigue, Recovery and Rehabilitation covers

Fatigue, Recovery and Rehabilitation is examined in AS Unit 1, Exploring physical education. It covers warm-up and cool-down, causes of fatigue, OBLA and DOMS, EPOC and its alactic and lactacid components, the fate of lactic acid and speeding up recovery and rehabilitation of minor injuries.

The 5 subtopics

Each one has its own page. WJEC AS Physical Education students sit this topic in the first year.

• Warm-up and cool-downHow a warm-up raises muscle temperature, speeds nerve impulses, increases blood flow and prepares a performer mentally, and how a cool-down removes lactic acid and re-saturates myoglobin, with sprinter and jogger warm-ups.Open →
• Causes of fatigue, OBLA and DOMSFatigue from energy depletion, lactic acid, dehydration and electrolyte loss, oxygen deficit and oxygen debt, OBLA in trained performers, and DOMS with its causes and prevention.Open →
• EPOC and its alactic and lactacid componentsEPOC and its alactic and lactacid stages, how long each takes, raised breathing after exercise, the 400 m and the jog, using the alactic stage in training, body temperature and the effect of training.Open →
• The fate of lactic acid and speeding up recoveryWhat happens to lactic acid and the Cori cycle, active cool-downs, ice baths, compression clothing, massage, nutrition, supplementation, rehydration and sleep in recovery.Open →
• Rehabilitation of minor injuriesRehabilitation and PRICE, ice, compression and elevation, kinesiology taping, hypoxic tents, oxygen tents, electrotherapy, massage and a gradual return to training.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Fatigue, Recovery and Rehabilitation further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Alactic stage vs Lactacid stage

  Alactic stage: the fast recovery phase restoring phosphocreatine and myoglobin. Lactacid stage: the slow recovery phase removing lactate and rebuilding glycogen.

• Oxygen deficit vs EPOC

  Oxygen deficit: the shortfall between supply and demand at the start of exercise, met anaerobically. EPOC: the extra consumption above resting level during recovery.

• OBLA vs DOMS

  OBLA: the point at which blood lactate rises rapidly during exercise. DOMS: muscle soreness felt a day or two after exercise.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   How does a warm-up raise muscle temperature, and why does this help?

   Model answer

   Light exercise raises muscle temperature. Warmer muscle fibres are more elastic, so they contract faster and are less likely to tear.

2. 2

   How does a warm-up affect the speed of nerve impulses?

   Model answer

   Nerve impulses travel faster in warm tissue. Muscles are stimulated more quickly, improving reaction and contraction speed.

3. 3

   How does a warm-up affect blood flow to the muscles?

   Model answer

   A warm-up dilates the blood vessels supplying the working muscles. More oxygen reaches the muscles.

4. 4

   Why does a warm-up reduce the risk of injury?

   Model answer

   Warm, elastic muscles and tendons stretch further without tearing. Joints are also better lubricated.

5. 5

   What should a warm-up include?

   Model answer

   A warm-up should include a pulse raiser, stretching and sport-specific practice. The activities should build in intensity.

6. 6

   How does a warm-up prepare a performer mentally?

   Model answer

   A warm-up focuses attention and helps control arousal. The performer feels ready to compete.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Fatigue, Recovery and Rehabilitation revision questions

Is Fatigue, Recovery and Rehabilitation examined at AS in WJEC Physical Education?

Yes. It sits in AS Unit 1, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does Fatigue, Recovery and Rehabilitation cover in WJEC AS-Level Physical Education?

5 subtopics: warm-up and cool-down, causes of fatigue, obla and doms, epoc and its alactic and lactacid components, the fate of lactic acid and speeding up recovery and rehabilitation of minor injuries. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Fatigue, Recovery and Rehabilitation organised?

By the WJEC 601-8485-1 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.