Follow-Up Alterations of Catecholamine Hormones after an Intensive Physical Activity

Abstract

Catecholamines play an important role in a number of bodily functions such as metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. Any change in the quantity of the hormones has negative effect on the performance of athletes. Fourteen young athletes participated in this study. The participants took Bruce Test and ran on the treadmill with an average of 16.05 minutes and were totally exhausted. Four blood samples were taken. The first sample served as a pretest and the second sample was taken after Bruce test. The third and fourth samples were taken one day and two days after the Bruce test, respectively. The results of the sample tests were analyzed by using paired sample t-test and repeated measures. The results showed that extreme exhaustive aerobic exercises significantly increase Epinephrine (E) (P = 0.0001) and Norepinephrine (NE) (P = 0.01). The results also showed that the increase for norepinephrine continued two days after physical exercise. It seems that Catecholamines react differently to physical exercises and might be influenced by the psychological state of the athlete before the exercise and the duration and intensity of the exercise. The amount of increase in the epinephrine and norepinephrine seem to contribute to the better athletic performance because these two hormones perhaps have a positive effect on cardiovascular system and metabolism.