Corrélations entre scores au questionnaire de la Société française de médecine du sport et concentrations de cortisol et testostérone salivaires lors du suivi d’une équipe de rugby de haut niveau

Objective. – To carry out the follow-up of 21 high level rugby players by means of the psycho-comportmental questionnaire of the “French Society of Sports Medicine” (SFMS), of the salivary testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) levels and of their ratio T/C during the sporting season.Materials and methods. – The players provided three samples of saliva, at awakening (8 am), just before the lunch (11 am), and at 17 pm in order to assay cortisol and testosterone. The first measurements were done at the beginning of season (T1), 12 weeks (T2) and 24 weeks (T3) after T1. At the same periods, they completed the 54 items of the SFMS questionnaire which allows to give a score (from 1 to 54) proportional to the state of tiredness of the subject. The performance of the team was estimated from the ratio of victories to the number of matches played over the season.Results and discussion. – The increase in the score obtained with the SFMS questionnaire and the variations of the hormonal levels during the season seem to reflect a normal adaptation phenomenon to the training load, a fact which is confirmed by the maintenance of the same level of performance of the team throughout the season. This study permitted to highlight the parallel evolutions between the psycho-comportemental index (score) and the hormonal markers of the state of tiredness. Thus, it appears that the SFMS questionnaire is an interesting and easy to employ tool to evaluate the state of tiredness (or reciprocally of form) of a sportsman during the course of the sporting season.     

Le questionnaire de surentraînement – corrélations avec le cortisol et la testostérone dans le cadre du suivi d'une équipe de haut niveau en rugby

Aim. – Determine the tiredness level by the mean of a questionnaire developed by the French Society for Sports Medicine, and to correlate the questionnaire results with salivary cortisol and testosterone levels examined in 21 male rugby players two time during the sport season (T1 and T2).Results. – The score obtained with the questionnaire rose significantly between T1 and T2 (from 7.9 ± 2.5 to 11.9 ± 3.2). The high-intensity training program and competition induced a significant increase in C and decrease in T values during the season. The best correlations between the score and the salivary hormonal rates were found at 8 a.m. Thus, the cortisol and salivary testosterone rates used as marker of tiredness are to consider preferably at 8 a.m.     

Variation de l'amplitude de l'onde T au cours de l'exercice et pendant la récupération chez des sportifs entraînés

Aims. – To study T-wave amplitude changes during exercise and recovery in trained athletes.Methods and results. – Thirty two athletes of both sexes underwent an incremental cycle test. Cardiac electric activity (ECG) was recorded every minute during exercise and the following five minutes of recovery. T-wave amplitude was manually measured on V5 ECG complex enlarged 4-fold. The statistical analysis was done using two factor's Anova. The results showed that T-wave amplitude 1) increased significantly during the three first minutes of the recovery, 2) was not linked to T-wave decrease or increase during previous exercise, and 3) was significantly lower in females than in males. Pathophysiological mechanisms of this ECG repolarisation in athletes during recovery following exercise remains unclear.     

Cinétique du cortisol et de l'hormone de croissance plasmatiques lors de deux épreuves sous-maximales avec et sans récupération

Introduction – The purpose of this study is to evaluate cortisol and growth hormone kinetics in plasma during a sub-maximal exercise with and without recovery.Results – There is a significant difference of cortisol and growth hormone kinetics between the two tests. The cortisol concentration increased significantly during exercise without recovery period, the changes of plasmatic cortisol were not significant during exercise with recovery. Plasmatic growth hormone increases after exercise without recovery.Conclusion – The absence of recovery period contributes to increase considerably the level of cortisol and growth hormone in plasma and decreases probably anabolic process in post exercise period.     

Étude des réactions du cortisol salivaire au déplacement en avion pour une équipe de rugby

Objective – The aim of this study was to check the physiological repercussions of a journey by plane for a team of Rugby players considering the variations of salivary cortisol.Subjects and Method – Thirty three players agreed to take part in the study. A group of 22 players of national up to international level (G1 group) carried out a journey of 2h30 by plane to go to a competition. A second group of 11 players (GII group) were to play a match of equivalent level and stake at the same time, but without displacement. The sampling of saliva for cortisol essays were carried after one day of rest at 8 am, 11 am and 17 pm for reference measurements. For the day of the match, the sampling for GI were effected at 7.45 am (before the departure of plane), 11 am (on arrival of plane), 17.30 pm (before warming-up, eg 30 min before the beginning of match), and 20 pm (15 min after the match). For GII, the sampling were carried out exactly at the same hours in order to eliminate the influence of the circadian rhythm.Results – There is an increase in cortisol levels at 8 am and 11 am for GI in comparison to the reference values and those measured for GII at 8 am. This seems to indicate that a journey by plane induces a stress, probably emotional. This reaction appears mainly for players declaring themselves sensitive to this type of displacement. These results allow to suppose that such a travel close to a competition is not favorable, for some subjects, to the realization of a performance. It thus appears desirable to recommend an interval of 24 hours time between displacement and the competition.     

Protéines et acides aminés dans la récupération post-effort

Recent data. – Recent evidence suggests an interest for the intake of nitrogenous substances during the anabolic post-exercise phase. Modest amounts of indispensable amino acids stimulate net protein gain and might contribute to long term training adaptations in muscle. Proteins play a subsidiary but limited role in glycogen resynthesis. Regarding other functions theoretically susceptible to be modulated by specific amino acids, for instance cysteine and glutamine, no quantitative evidence exists today demonstrating that amino acid-specific supplements would benefit healthy athletes.