Research article - (2022)21, 446 - 457
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52082/jssm.2022.446
Neurophysiological Markers for Monitoring Exercise and Recovery Cycles in Endurance Sports
Thomas Reichel1,, Sebastian Hacker1, Jana Palmowski1, Tim Konstantin Boßlau1, Torsten Frech1, Paulos Tirekoglou1, Christopher Weyh1, Evita Bothur2, Stefan Samel2, Rüdiger Walscheid2, Karsten Krüger1
1Department of Exercise Physiology and Sports Therapy, Institute of Sports Science, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
2Medical Center for Laboratory Medicine and Microbiology, Koblenz-Mittelrhein, Germany

Thomas Reichel
✉ Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Institute of Sport Science, Department of Exercise Physiology and Sports Therapy, Kugelberg 62, 35394 Giessen, Germany
Email: Thomas.Reichel@sport.uni-giessen.de
Received: 09-06-2022 -- Accepted: 23-08-2022
Published (online): 01-09-2022

ABSTRACT

The current study analyzes the suitability and reliability of selected neurophysiological and vegetative nervous system markers as biomarkers for exercise and recovery in endurance sport. Sixty-two healthy men and women, endurance trained and moderately trained, performed two identical acute endurance tests (running trial 1 and running trial 2) followed by a washout period of four weeks. Exercise protocol consisted of an acute running trial lasting 60 minutes. An intensity corresponding to 95% of the heart rate at individual anaerobic threshold for 40 minutes was followed by 20 minutes at 110%. At pre-exercise, post-exercise, three hours post-exercise and 24 hours post-exercise, experimental diagnostics on Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), heart rate variability (HRV), Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT), and Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) were performed. Significant changes over time were found for all parameters (p < .05). Furthermore, there was an approached statistical significance in the interaction between gender and training status in BDNF regulation (F(3) = 2.43; p = 0.06), while gender differences were found only for LF/HF-ratio (3hPoEx, F(3) = 3.40; p = 0.002). Regarding the reliability, poor ICC-values (< 0.5) were found for BDNF, Stroop sensitivity and pNN50, while all other parameters showed moderate ICC-values (0.5-0.75). Plasma-BDNF, SCWT performance, pain perception and all HRV parameters are suitable exercise-sensitive markers after an acute endurance exercise. Moreover, pain perception, SCWT reaction time and all HRV parameters show a moderate reliability, others rather poor. In summary, a selected neurophysiological and vegetative marker panel can be used to determine exercise load and recovery in endurance sports, but its repeatability is limited due to its vaguely reliability.

Key words: Nervous system, monitoring training, biomarkers, reliability, executive function, heart rate variability

Key Points
  • Pain perception and the Stroop test have moderate reliability in the use of exercise and recovery markers after two identical exercise loads in endurance sports
  • Markers of heart rate variability also show moderate reliability as biomarkers after intense endurance exercise under identical conditions.
  • There are associations between neurophysiological markers and inflammatory blood markers after endurance exercise that are partially associated with gender and training status








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