Immunological Stress Responses following Resistance Training: Subjective Symptoms and Objective Signs in Young Athletes

Written by Thomas Steidten, Christian Puta, Rico May, Michael Kellmann, Urs Granacher, Holger HW Gabriel

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Background. It is accepted that high training volumes and intensities evoke immunological stress responses [1]. Thus, mechanisms of innate and adaptive immune system are induced. Being already activated (or distracted), the immune system is unable to fight invading pathogens effectively. However, high training volumes and intensities are typical for young athletes’ training. With respect to immunological training control, it is necessary to evaluate subjective symptoms and objective signs of immunological stress responses.

Question. Which subjective and objective measures are appropriate for immunological training control and are the associated?

Answer. Within the scope of the KINGS-Study, the Acute Recovery and Stress Scale (ARSS) as well as capillary blood markers we´re shown to represent resistance training-induced immunological stress responses in young athletes. The strains of the training day lead to a significant increase of the stress dimension and significant reduction of the recovery dimension of the ARSS from morning to evening training sessions. Capillary blood markers showed significant increases of Granulocytes and White Blood Cells, without means exceeding the clinical range. Further analysis revealed a positive association between the stress dimension of the ARSS and percentage shares of Granulocytes. Furthermore, recovery dimension of the ARSS and percentage shares of Lymphocytes were positively associated (see Figure 1).

Fig. 1 Changes in the Dimensions of the Acute Recovery and Stress Scale (ARSS) and capillary blood markers over the training day.

Recommendations.

• Daily monitoring (early in the morning and in the evening) of subjective and objective measures of immunological responses for at least 48 h and up to 7 days is recommended during intense training periods (e.g. training camps).
• Clinical ranges should not be used to evaluate resistance training-induced immunological stress responses.

References.

[1] Puta C, Steidten T, Baumbach P, Wöhrl T, May R, Kellmann M, Herbsleb M, Gabriel B, Weber S, Granacher U and Gabriel HHW (2018) Standardized Assessment of Resistance Training-Induced Subjective Symptoms and Objective Signs of Immunological Stress Responses in Young Athletes. Front. Physiol. 9:698. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00698