This article illustrates some problems and possible solutions to determine the apparent spin-lattice relaxation time (T(1)) of the muscular (31)P metabolites at rest and during dynamic steady-state exercise using a clinical 1.5 T NMR scanner and a surface coil. T(1) was first estimated on a phosphates solution (phantom) using four different acquisition protocols, all based on the multiple-point "progressive saturation" method, and by fitting each data set with two different mathematical models. Subsequently, two of the four protocols and both models were used to estimate T(1) both at rest and during exercise on the calf muscles of 10 healthy volunteers. Experimental results obtained on the phantom showed that T(1) is greatly affected by the longest nominal explored repetition time (P<0.001) and by the mathematical model (P<0.001), ranging from 0.65+/-0.10 to 8.4+/-0.8 s. The two acquisition protocols applied on volunteers yielded significantly different T(1) (P<0.001), which were also rather different from the literature values for the same metabolites. Nevertheless, independently of the acquisition protocol and/or the fitting procedure, T(1) of all muscular phosphagens did not change statistically from rest to steady-state aerobic exercise.
