Tiernan Caoimhe, Lyons Mark, Comyns Tom, Nevill Alan M, Warrington Giles
Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2020 Jan 1;15(1):113-118. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0945.
Insufficient recovery can lead to a decrease in performance and increase the risk of injury and illness. The aim of this study was to evaluate salivary cortisol as a marker of recovery in elite rugby union players.
Over a 10-wk preseason training period, 19 male elite rugby union players provided saliva swabs biweekly (Monday and Friday mornings). Subjective markers of recovery were collected every morning of each training day. Session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) was taken after every training session, and training load was calculated (sRPE × session duration).
Multilevel analysis found no significant association between salivary cortisol and training load or subjective markers of recovery (all P > .05) over the training period. Compared with baseline (wk 1), Monday salivary cortisol significantly increased in wk 4 (14.94 [7.73] ng/mL; P = .04), wk 8 (16.39 [9.53] ng/mL; P = .01), and wk 9 (15.41 [9.82] ng/mL; P = .02), and Friday salivary cortisol significantly increased in wk 5 (14.81 [8.74] ng/mL; P = .04) and wk 10 (15.36 [11.30] ng/mL; P = .03).
The significant increase in salivary cortisol on certain Mondays may indicate that players did not physically recover from the previous week of training or match at the weekend. The increased Friday cortisol levels and subjective marker of perceived fatigue indicated increased physiological stress from that week's training. Regular monitoring of salivary cortisol combined with appropriate planning of training load may allow sufficient recovery to optimize training performance.
恢复不足会导致运动表现下降，并增加受伤和患病风险。本研究旨在评估唾液皮质醇作为精英橄榄球联盟运动员恢复情况的标志物。
在为期10周的季前训练期间，19名男性精英橄榄球联盟运动员每两周（周一和周五上午）提供唾液拭子。在每个训练日的早晨收集恢复情况的主观指标。每次训练课后记录主观用力感觉评分（sRPE），并计算训练负荷（sRPE×训练时长）。
多水平分析发现，在训练期间，唾液皮质醇与训练负荷或恢复情况的主观指标之间均无显著关联（所有P>.05）。与基线水平（第1周）相比，第4周（14.94[7.73]ng/mL；P=.04）、第8周（16.39[9.53]ng/mL；P=.01）和第9周（15.41[9.82]ng/mL；P=.02）周一的唾液皮质醇显著升高，第5周（14.81[8.74]ng/mL；P=.04）和第10周（15.36[11.30]ng/mL；P=.03）周五的唾液皮质醇显著升高。
某些周一唾液皮质醇的显著升高可能表明运动员在周末前一周的训练或比赛后身体未恢复。周五皮质醇水平升高以及主观疲劳指标表明当周训练导致生理压力增加。定期监测唾液皮质醇并结合适当的训练负荷规划，可能有助于实现充分恢复以优化训练表现。
