Abstract
Purpose
Alterations in immunological homeostasis induced by acute exercise have been frequently reported. In view of the growing amount of repetitive exercise stimuli in competitive sports, quick recovery plays a superior role. Therefore, we examined whether aqua cycling affects cellular immunological recovery.
Methods
After performing 300 countermovement jumps with maximal effort male sport students (n = 20; 24.4 ± 2.2 years) were randomized into either an aqua cycling (AC) or a passive recovery (P) group. AC pedaled in chest-deep water without resistance, while P lay in a supine position. Each recovery protocols lasted 30 min. Blood samples were taken at Baseline, Post-exercise, Post-recovery and 1 h (h), 2 h, 4 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after recovery. Outcomes comprised white blood cell (WBC) counts, lymphocyte (LYM) counts and LYM subsets (CD4/CD8 ratio). Additionally, cellular inflammation markers (neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII)) were calculated.
Results
In both groups, WBC, NLR and SII were significantly increased compared to Baseline up to and including 4 h after recovery. Significant interaction effects were found for WBC (Post-recovery, 2 h and 4 h), NLR (Post-recovery), SII (Post-recovery) and CD4/CD8 ratio (2 h) with values of AC being higher than of P.
Conclusions
Interestingly, AC provoked a stronger but not prolonged immunological disturbance than P. NLR and SII may present simple, more integrative markers to screen exercise-induced alterations in immune homeostasis/recovery in athletes and clinical populations. More research is warranted to elucidate the clinical and practical relevance of these findings.
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Abbreviations
- AC:
-
Aqua cycling
- CD4 cell:
-
T-helper cell
- CD8 cell:
-
Cytotoxic T cell
- CMJs:
-
Countermovement jumps
- IL:
-
Interleukin
- LYM:
-
Lymphocyte
- NK-cells:
-
Natural killer cells
- NLR:
-
Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio
- P:
-
Passive recovery
- PLR:
-
Platelet/lymphocyte ratio
- SII:
-
Systemic immune-inflammation index
- URTI:
-
Upper respiratory tract infection
- WBC:
-
White blood cell
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Anke Schmitz for conducting the blood analyses.
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PW, PZ and WB developed the study design. PW conducted the interventions. AS, PW, PZ, NJ and DW conducted statistical analyses. AS designed the figures. NJ, DW, PZ and PW drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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Communicated by Fabio Fischetti.
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Niklas Joisten and David Walzik shared first authorship.
Philipp Zimmer and Patrick Wahl shared last authorship.
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Joisten, N., Walzik, D., Schenk, A. et al. Aqua cycling for immunological recovery after intensive, eccentric exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 119, 1369–1375 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04127-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04127-4