Time Course of Changes in Performance and Inflammatory Responses After Acute Plyometric Exercise

Abstract

The objectives of the present investigation were to study the inflammatory and performance responses after an acute bout of intense plyometric exercise during a prolonged recovery period. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (P, n = 12) that performed intense plyometric exercises or a control group (C, n = 12) that rested. The delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS), knee range of motion (KROM), creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, white blood cell count, C reactive protein (CRP), uric acid (UA), cortisol, testosterone, IL-6, IL-1b strength (isometric and isokinetic), and countermovement (CMJ) and static (SJ) jumping performance were measured at rest, immediately postexercise and at 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours of recovery. Lactate was measured at rest and postexercise. Strength remained unchanged throughout recovery, but CMJ and SJ declined (p < 0.05) by 8-20%. P induced a marked rise in DOMS, CK, and LDH (peaked 24-48 hours postexercise) and a KROM decline. An acute-phase inflammatory response consisting of leukocytosis (postexercise and at 24 hours), an IL-6, IL-1b, CRP, and cortisol elevation (during the first 24 hours of recovery) and a delayed increase of UA (peaked at 48 hours) and testosterone (peaked at 72 hours) was observed in P. The results of this investigation indicate that performing an acute bout of intense plyometric exercise may induce a short-term muscle damage and marked but transient inflammatory responses. Jumping performance seems to deteriorate for as long as 72 hours postexercise, whereas strength appears to remain unchanged. The acute-phase inflammatory response after a plyometric exercise protocol appears to follow the same pattern as in other exercise models. These results clearly indicate the need of sufficient recovery between successive plyometric exercise training sessions.

Effect of elastic-band exercise on muscle damage and inflammatory responses in Taekwondo athletes

“…Leukocytes exhibit a transient rise immediately post exercise followed by decreased at 24 hours later. This data is similar with previous study that had been done on plyometric training 12,22 .…”

“…In contrast other research on plyometric exercise suggested that CRP increased only 2 days after training 22 . In other hands CRP production in our investigation is lower than plyometric and severe exercise 12,26 that it is same with the study on resistance or aerobic exercise 27 .…”

“…In present study, IL-6 preceded CRP peak in the circulation and CRP peak was done at 24 hours after training. It appears that, CRP increase within 24 hours of recovery as previously reported for other exercise models 12,19 . In contrast other research on plyometric exercise suggested that CRP increased only 2 days after training 22 .…”

“…IL-6 is implicated in hepatocyte-derived proteins production, cortisol production, and neutrophil degranulation 23 . In our study, IL-6 increased only immediate after exercise and at a lesser extent compared other study on eccentric exercise 12 , which is probably related to the smaller of muscle damage induced by elastic-band exercise as compared with other exercise models. This was indicated by the increase in serum IL-6 concentrations within hour's post-exercise, corroborating previously published data 7,9,24 .…”

“…In other hand lengthening or eccentric contractions have been documented to induce skeletal muscle trauma in both human and animal models 12 . Therefore the inflammatory response to induced trauma could account for the progressive release of muscle-specific enzymes into the serum and feelings of soreness that are often observed in untrained subjects in the days after eccentric exercise 13 .…”