What is SmO2?

What is SMO2 or Muscle Oxygenation? Put simply, it is a measurement of oxygen capacity in a muscle. It can be used to directly monitor an active muscle, or indirectly in muscles not immediately involved in physical activity. The Moxy Monitor is the Muscle Oxygen Saturation or SmO2 Monitor used by MDB Wellness. It uses infrared light to measure the concentration of oxygen in hemoglobin of a muscle. This is similar to how many sport watches are now able to measure SpO2. They difference is that SmO2 is a dynamic measure in the muscle. SpO2 can only give information about gas exchange by the lungs and will only change small amounts in healthy people based on factors like altitude or activity levels.

SmO2 tells the story of what is happening in a muscle, in real time. Metabolism relies on the availability of oxygen. Monitoring SmO2 tells the story of how energy is being produced and its near-term availability. When we measure gas exchange such as VO2 it is the end result of full body metabolism. It is heavily influenced by activity, but it does not the complete story. Monitoring of the metabolism of a individual muscle can further insight into an active body.

Recent research is showing how useful this can be. Breakpoints in muscle oxygenation show a high correlation to Lactate and Ventilatory thresholds, the line dividing sustainable and unsustainable levels of activity Eliminating the need to invasive and at times inconsistent use of lactate test strips. The Moxy remains on the athlete and is constantly taking measurements, no issues of poor sample collection as with lactate tests.

Combined with a VO2 assessment, SMO2 tells a more complete story can be told of how each individual uses oxygen and how to tailor training to their unique metabolic needs. The combined use of these two metrics are the personalized MDB Wellness difference!

Contact us for any questions or to set up an assessment today!