Vera Francisca M, Manzaneque Juan M, Carranque Gabriel A, Rodríguez-Peña Francisco M, Sánchez-Montes Soledad, Blanca María J
Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Departamento de Psicobiología y Metodología de las CC. del Comportamiento, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Málaga, Spain.
Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Departamento de Cirugía, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29010 Málaga, Spain.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 Oct 16;2018:1074801. doi: 10.1155/2018/1074801. eCollection 2018.
Karate is a martial arts discipline which is widely practiced in the Western world as a form of self-defense, as well as a discipline to achieve physical and mental balance. However, little is known with respect to its specific psychobiological effects, particularly in relation to the influence that it may exert on the endocrine system. Thus, in the present study, we examined the effects of karate on several hormonal parameters of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Thyroid axes in long-time practitioners.
Twenty-two healthy volunteer subjects (12 experimental and 10 controls) participated in the study. Experimental subjects were karate players with a minimum of 3 years of practice in this discipline. Blood samples for the quantification of hormonal parameters were taken in both groups. The Mann-Whitney test was performed for each variable in order to analyze the differences between groups.
Statistically significant differences were found in cortisol and thyroid hormones, with the karate group showing lower levels of these hormones as compared to control.
These findings, therefore, reveal that long-term karate practice is associated with a significant endocrine modulation, which suggests interesting psychobiological and clinical implications. Further research is needed to verify these preliminary results, as well as properly assessing its possible use as a psychosomatic intervention tool.
空手道是一种武术门类，在西方世界作为一种自卫形式以及实现身心平衡的训练方法被广泛练习。然而，关于其具体的心理生物学效应，尤其是对内分泌系统可能产生的影响，人们了解甚少。因此，在本研究中，我们考察了空手道对长期练习者下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴和下丘脑 - 垂体 - 甲状腺轴的若干激素参数的影响。
22名健康志愿者（12名实验组和10名对照组）参与了本研究。实验组受试者为空手道练习者，在该项目上至少有3年的练习经验。两组均采集血样以定量激素参数。对每个变量进行曼 - 惠特尼检验以分析组间差异。
在皮质醇和甲状腺激素方面发现了具有统计学意义的差异，空手道组这些激素的水平低于对照组。
因此，这些发现表明长期练习空手道与显著的内分泌调节有关，这提示了有趣的心理生物学和临床意义。需要进一步研究来验证这些初步结果，并适当评估其作为身心干预工具的可能用途。
