PT at high altitude

[504PIR]

Thought I would throw this out there as there are many more folks with experiance working at higher altitudes than me. I've recently deployed to a central asian country with my employer. I normally live in the midwestern US, workout often (run, Crossfit, weights) and generally consider myself in good shape.

I've been on the ground about 4 days, the altitude is around 6500 feet. I went running on the 2nd day here thinking I would do a slow and easy 3 miles to get used to being here.....I was wrong! At 1 mile I was a bit more stressed than I usually am, at 1.5 I was like "oh this is bad" at 2 I was hurting. Went a little further then headed to the house. I'm still working out twice a day but at reduced levels. Drinking lots of water and trying to get plenty of rest.

Don't get me wrong, its a good gut check. The less oxygen will make things harder & when I get back home I know I'll be kicking some butt on the local 10K.

How long does it take to acclimated to higher altitudes? As you gentelmen have more experiance I would like your opinons.

[Sacamuelas]

Interesting that you just posted this question right now. I was literally reading a transcript as you typed that question based on an interview with COL Rocky Farr, command surgeon of the USSOCOM. COL Farr is also a member of this website.


Question: On another mission-related physiology subject, in the Iraq and Afghanistan region SOF find themselves operating from basically sea level to very high altitudes. What training, conditioning, equipment or pharmaceuticals can be harnessed to lessen the physical drain at these heights?

Originally Posted by COL Farr

" Conditioning, acclimation and education are probably the three most important factors relevant to minimize the physical drain of operating in very high altitudes. There is nothing that can really replace the physiological conditioning of a body to operate in high altitudes. Prior exposure and acclimation also allows individuals to learn their own limits and to experience the signs and symptoms associated with acute mountain sickness, high altitude pulmonary edema [HAPE] and high altitude cerebral edema [HACE]. Unfortunately, some individuals are at greater risk for suffering from exertion at altitudes.

As for treatment, again recognition of early signs and symptoms and removing the individual from further exposure to altitude is the primary goal. Dexamethasone and Acetazolamide are two of the main medication for prophylaxis. Both of those drugs hinder performance and do not replace acclimatization. Units will also sometimes deploy with portable recompression [hyperbaric] chambers and oxygen with rapid decent being the mainstay of treatment for HAPE/HACE in addition to Dexamethasone as an adjunct therapy to HACE.

We have been looking at various acclimatization methodologies such as artificial high altitude before deployment with various types of equipment and deployment regimes, which allow acclimatization attempts at home station or en route. The Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine provided us with an ascent profile that takes into account a stoppage period at 5,600 feet. This is the altitude of some American bases in Afghanistan. It turns out that for every day one spends at this altitude, he or she can then make a direct ascent of 1,000 feet with minimal risk of altitude sickness, up to a maximum of 14,000 feet. Therefore, if you keep a unit at a 5,600-foot base camp for five days, you can expect combat performance at 10,600 feet after five days.
Nothing can take the place of adequate acclimatization.

[jatx]

You'll probably feel normal within a couple of days. I went from sea level to 6000 ft for AT this year, and it only took five or six days to fully adjust. The good news is that you are well below the altitude where you'd begin to expect symptoms of altitude sickness (sleeplessness, digestive problems, headaches) which can exacerbate the decrease in performance for a while until you acclimate.

Also, don't expect the performance increase to last much longer than a week to 10 days when you come back down, ceteris paribus.

[NousDefionsDoc]

kg and I are at about 8,500 ft. You have to take it easy at first.

[Peregrino]

I had the "pleasure" of spending some time in La Paz Bolivia many years ago. It sucked. Sleeplesness, headaches, loss of appetite, general malaise, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Fortunately, you're not that high. Rest, hydrate, and take asprin as required. Acclimation takes time. (You'll never be as good as the natives though. I swear the Bolivian "Indios" were mostly lung.) You CANNOT accelerate it by doing "gut check" PT. At higher altitudes you can wind up hospitalized or dead with HAPE or HACE. Once you've acclimated you can resume normal activities. When you get home, you'll be a real "stud muffin" for a few weeks. (Natural "blood doping".) That wears off after a while as RBC counts return to normal levels. HTH - Peregrino

[The Reaper]

When we used to go skiing in Colorado, we would sometimes have to stop and rest while unloading the car and humping the gear up to the third floor.

The resorts were a bit higher than your location.

By the end of the week, we were able to do pretty much whatever we needed, but a long jog (or a set of windsprints) would still not have been in our best interest.

Same thing in Bogota.

A week or two and you should be fine.

TR

[Sdiver]

There's a question I've had for awhile myself.

If a team knew ahead of time, they were going to be deployed to an area that is at altitude, such as A-stan, would they come out here to Ft. Carson, to get somewhat acclimated, or would it be to deploy from were they're at, and then get acclimated in their AO?