Physiological and Psychological Responses to a Maximal Swimming Exercise Test in Adolescent Elite Athletes

Abstract

Background: Continuously rising performances in elite adolescent athletes requires increasing training loads. This training overload without professional monitoring, could lead to overtraining in these adolescents. Methods: 31 elite adolescent athletes (boys: n = 19, 16 yrs; girls: n = 12, 15 yrs) participated in a field-test which contained a unified warm-up and a 200 m maximal freestyle swimming test. Saliva samples for testosterone (T) in boys, estradiol (E) in girls and cortisol (C) in both genders were collected pre-, post- and 30 min post-exercise. Lactate levels were obtained pre- and post-exercise. Brunel Mood Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and psychosomatic symptoms questionnaires were filled out post-exercise. Results: Lactate levels differed between genders (boys: pre: 1.01 ± 0.26; post: 8.19 ± 3.24; girls: pre: 0.74 ± 0.23; post: 5.83 ± 2.48 mmol/L). C levels increased significantly in boys: pre- vs. post- (p = 0.009), pre- vs. 30 min post-exercise (p = 0.003). The T level (p = 0.0164) and T/C ratio (p = 0.0004) decreased after field test which draws attention to the possibility of overtraining. Maximal and resting heart rates did not differ between genders; however, heart rate recovery did (boys: 29.22 ± 7.4; girls: 40.58 ± 14.50 beats/min; p = 0.008). Conclusions: Our models can be used to explain the hormonal ratio changes (37.5–89.8%). Based on the results this method can induce hormonal response in elite adolescent athletes and can be used to notice irregularities with repeated measurements.

Swimming Exercise-Induced Improvements in Cardiorespiratory Fitness (CRF) are Caused by Nitric Oxide Functional Adaptations in the Oxygen Transport System

“…Acute pulmonary respiratory embolism may reveal left ventricular enlargement. A third heart sound is consistent with systolic dysfunction and can be generated from the left or right ventricle [32]. A fourth heart sound suggests a noncompliant ventricle but is not specific for heart failure.…”

The Effects of Physical Exercise on Saliva Composition: A Comprehensive Review

“…Salivary concentrations of lactate during training have been estimated as lower than those of the lactate of the blood [ 62 ]. Lactate levels can also be used to assess the possibility of overtraining, as they decrease during intense exercise [ 60 ]. Lactate levels seem to be independent of individuals’ fitness and alteration in anxiety [ 61 ].…”

Distribution and Prevalence of Elbow Pain (EP) in Elite Swimmers in Tianjin, China—A Regional Epidemiological Study

“…This indicates that athletes who possess these three features are more likely to experience EP problems than others. Therefore, during the athlete selection phase, such as teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18, relevant professionals should exclude individuals with these three anthropometric features or advise them not to participate in competitive swimming training to reduce the risk of EP [40]. In terms of organizations, although a certain number of EP patients come from university teams (UTs), professional swimming teams (PSTs) remain the primary hotbed for the greatest number of EP patients.…”