Realising the Potential of Urine and Saliva as Diagnostic Tools in Sport and Exercise Medicine

Abstract

Accurate monitoring of homeostatic perturbations following various psychophysiological stressors is essential in sports and exercise medicine. Various biomarkers are routinely used as monitoring tools in both clinical and elite sport settings. Blood collection and muscle biopsies, both invasive in nature, are considered the gold standard for the analysis of these biomarkers in exercise science. Exploring non-invasive methods of collecting and analysing biomarkers that are capable of providing accurate information regarding exercise-induced physiological and psychological stress is of obvious practical importance. This review describes the potential benefits, and the limitations, of using saliva and urine to ascertain biomarkers capable of identifying important stressors that are routinely encountered before, during, or after intense or unaccustomed exercise, competition, over-training, and inappropriate recovery. In particular, we focus on urinary and saliva biomarkers that have previously been used to monitor muscle damage, inflammation, cardiovascular stress, oxidative stress, hydration status, and brain distress. Evidence is provided from a range of empirical studies suggesting that urine and saliva are both capable of identifying various stressors. Although additional research regarding the efficacy of using urine and/or saliva to indicate the severity of exercise-induced psychophysiological stress is required, it is likely that these non-invasive biomarkers will represent "the future" in sports and exercise medicine.

Changes in salivary analytes in canine parvovirus: A high-resolution quantitative proteomic study

“…In dogs, saliva has proven to be an useful biofluid for the diagnostic of several conditions such as leishmaniosis [7] and helicobacter infection [8], as well as for evaluation of stress [9]. The use of noninvasive specimens such as saliva provides several advantages compared to invasive methods, being safer for the personal and the patient, easier to collect, pain-free and causes reduced sampling stress [10]. Saliva can have potential advantages versus others non-invasive samples such as faeces, which usually need a laborious pre-treatment prior to its analysis.…”

Effect of External Counterpulsation on Exercise Recovery in Team Sport Athletes

“…Recovery methods which involve mechanical compression, such as massage, have been proposed to influence lower cortisol levels through a homeostatic response to stimulation of the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system [36], although evidence to support this concept is also lacking. Given associations of cortisol with immunosuppressive, catabolic, and protein synthesis-inhibitory effects [37] and physical performance [38], the observed hormonal response to ECP may be associated with several benefits for exercise recovery.…”

Does caffeine exert dose‐response effects on saliva secretory IgA following prolonged submaximal running?

“…The method of saliva collection while both classed as “unstimulated whole saliva” was collected via different means, as well as the assay used to analyze SIgA. In a recent review, the issue surrounding how saliva is collected, analytes subsequently measured and represented has highlighted the difficulty in studies being able to compare results. The authors suggest that when it comes to exercise studies, the differing results (increase, decrease or no change in SIgA) could perhaps be more to do with the saliva collection and analytical methods used than it is to do with the exercise itself.…”