This study looks at how exercise affects the severity of fatigue experienced in people living with Multiple Sclerosis and healthy individuals. Fatigue is a debilitating symptom experienced by the majority of people living with Multiple Sclerosis. Research shows that how much fatigue someone reports depends on how much physical activity they performed throughout the day as well as being at its worst at the end of the day. However, there is no research on how physical activity and the time of day affect fatigue levels. Research indicates that fatigue is accompanied by changes in walking patterns. Like with fatigue, it appears that changes in walking patterns are impacted by physical activity and time of day, with the greatest changes being in the evening. Unfortunately, there is no research that has explicitly explored how gait responds to physical activity and fatigue between the morning and evening. This study will achieve two things: it will provide insight into the underlying neuromuscular mechanisms that impact fatigue between the morning and evening, and it will identify whether we can track fatigue development and severity through changes in walking pattern between the morning and evening.

Even though the brain is small it uses a lot of energy at rest. This lopsided use of nutrients occurs as a result of the brain having a limited ability to store energy. However, it has been shown concussion can change this functional ability. Therefore, understanding how the brain controls its nutrient supply is essential following injury. When this control system is disrupted, a person is at risk of fainting or in extreme cases, stroke. This may also play a role in symptoms present following concussion. As such, maintaining brain blood flow control is of critical importance for humans. Precise control of brain blood flow occurs through a series of regulatory actions. Changes related to blood pressure are known as cerebral autoregulation (CA). Changes to providing food/energy to brain tissue is known as neurovascular coupling (NVC). Changes in oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in our body is known as cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR). Most of research in this area has been focused on healthy adult males. This has also been primarily measured using transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD). This measures the speed of blood flow in deep brain blood vessels. A second technique is functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). This measures the amount of oxygen within the blood in the outer regions of the brain. A third technique is electroencephalography (EEG). This measures the amount of brain activity occurring in the outer regions of the brain. Using these techniques together will allow us to understand how brain regions communicate with each other. This will reveal how brain function is changed following concussion. People following concussion also experience headaches, dizziness, and other symptoms when exercising. It is unknown how these symptoms link to brain blood flow deficits. This study is exploring how brain blood flow control is affected following concussion. If you agree to take part, you will perform various tasks that will alter the control of brain blood flow. These tasks are safe and have been completed in healthy and clinical populations. You will also be invited to perform an exercise test. The aims of this study are: 1) Understand brain blood flow control and how it relates to brain activity between healthy and concussed participants. 2) Examine differences in heart function between healthy and concussed participants. 3) Understand how brain blood flow relates to concussion symptoms and these are affected by exercise. Please contact us for more details about this study.

Chronic fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and post-exertional malaise are common complaints of those living with “long COVID-19”, a grouping of symptoms that persist beyond acute infection. Similar to other types of post-viral fatigue, diagnosis and treatment of long COVID is challenging due to the lack of a valid biomarker for the condition. However, some research in chronic fatigue syndrome, another post-viral fatigue similar to long COVID, has been likened to, has suggested abnormalities in the recovery from exercise to be a major tenant of the condition. Though the cause of LC is not well understood, some research has found reduced skeletal muscle creatine concentration in those with long COVID, which may contribute to fatigue and, therefore, supplementation with creatine may improve exercise capacity. Creatine has also been found to improve cognitive function in instances when cognitive processes are stressed, such as in long COVID, and may therefore reduce symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and general malaise in those living with long COVID. Current research in the area has not assessed the role of creatine in combatting post-exertional malaise, nor have they described any mechanisms by which creatine supplementation might improve exercise tolerance. The objectives of the proposed research are 1) to assess serial cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET) as a biomarker for LC, and 2) to assess the efficacy of creatine monohydrate in improving indices of fatigue, exercise capacity, and post-exertional malaise in individuals living with LC compared to a control.

Iron deficiency is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world. It is estimated that of 30% of all females experience iron deficiency, with a greater prevalence in female endurance athletes. Sub-optimal iron stores can lead to anemia which causes fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, dizziness, and pale skin. It can have several consequences to an individual's health, and in the case of female athletes, sport performance. The prevention and treatment of sub-optimal iron levels depend on the underlying cause and severity of the deficiency. While a balanced diet adequate in iron-rich foods is essential, diet alone is often insufficient to correct the problem. In such cases, iron supplements are recommended for individuals with sub-optimal iron status or those who are at high risk of developing it. The rate of absorption from currently available iron supplements is generally very poor and ranges from 2-20%. Furthermore, supplementation from these sources is commonly associated with side-effects including gastrointestinal distress, nausea, and constipation. As a solution, this research aims test a new novel, food-based iron-yeast supplement. The administration of iron as a part of a pasteurized nutrition yeast is thought to shift the site of absorption (from upper to lower gastrointestinal tract), enhance iron absorption and result in fewer side effects. The purpose of this research study is to determine if 8 weeks of consuming a yeast-iron complex-fortified cookie every other day can improve iron status and if that may improve exercise status. We are also interested in assessing how our unique supplement influences the bacteria that reside in the gastrointestinal tract (i.e., the gut microbiome).

Goal is to compare health and activity markers between premenopausal and postmenopausal female runners. Recruiting: -Healthy, trained runners, aged 30-65 years old. You must be either premenopausal or postmenopausal. Health and Fitness Assessment: -Do a full effort running test on a treadmill and have your body composition and bone mineral density measured at the University of Calgary. -Test your memory on an iPad. -You must run a race that has a distance of at least 22 km in Alberta. Measurements three times: 1. Wear a heart rate and core temp monitor. 2. Spit into a tube to complete a salivary hormone test for estrogen and progesterone levels. These tests will occur before the race, after the race, and during your post-race recovery.

This study is recruiting men over the age of 60 years who are at high risk of fracture. Men will be assigned to participate in an "online" or "offline" exercise and nutrition intervention. The study will last for 12 months. Participants will be assessed at study entry and exit for risk of falls and balance.

We are interested in exploring how fatigue relates to the energy cost of cycling exercise. Minimizing the energy cost of cycling may be a key determinant of cycling performance, and we want to explore how and why this energy cost may change with fatigue. Participants will be required to report to the laboratory for up to 13 total visits, each lasting approximately 60-120 minutes. Participants will first perform an incremental test to determine their maximal oxygen uptake, and then a series of three tests to determine their critical power (this should be an intensity that can be sustained for about one hour). Following these tests, participants will perform several constant load trials at varying work rates while monitoring ventilation, oxygen uptake and any changes in fatigue. Some of these trials will be to the limit of endurance.

In the Integrative Sensorimotor Neuroscience Laboratory, headed by Drs. Ryan Peters and Tyler Cluff, we are interested in how our nervous system controls movements of our body, particularly of the arms and hands. To study this, we use a mixture cutting-edge neurophysiological techniques to record activity from muscles (electromyography), brain (electroencephalography), and sensory nerves (human microneurography), all while we have you perform different natural reaching and grasping movements with your arms/hands in the lab. Human microneurography involves placing a very fine microelectrode into a peripheral nerve to record action potentials from individual sensory receptors. It is kind of like acupuncture, however, the electrodes are a bit finer than acupuncture needles so the slight pinching sensation as the needle enters the skin is even less noticeable. The main difference between this and acupuncture would be that we are directly targeting a peripheral nerve. A slight sensation of pressure, as well as a tingling feeling radiating down the arm are commonly felt as the electrode enters the nerve fascicle, however, this procedure is generally non-painful, as there are no pain receptors beneath the level of the skin. We encourage participants to come and watch an experiment prior to participating. IF, however, the prospective participant is not interested in the microneurography portion of the experiment, but is generally fine with the other protocols mentioned above, we would still like to have them participate, as not all experiments will require microneurography or needles of any kind.

This study examines how people's motor learning may differ after a stroke. It is also important to retain motor learning so we examine people's memory/retention of the tasks. This study also examines sensory and motor learning differences of healthy controls of all ages to gather if there are differences as we age. We utilize a robotics exoskeleton called a KINARM to examine the upper limb mobility of participants. During the study you will complete some reaching tasks and games in the KINARM. Our hope is to better understand motor learning of the general population and of those suffering from a stroke so that in the future we may be able to cater rehabilitation to each individual.

We aim to learn about the injury risk associated with participating in adapted and para sports and recreation programs. Fear has often been stated as a reason that persons with a disability don't want to get involved in sports or recreation. By having those who are or have been registered in adapted, inclusive, and para sports, recreation, and physical activities complete the survey it will be possible to learn more about the risk of participation in a variety of activities. Many eligible participants may have never experienced and injury, others will have had many, and others may have experienced only one or two. No matter which group you fit into, we want to hear from you.