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Time course of changes in immuneoendocrine markers following an international rugby game

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Abstract

Intense exercise is known to cause temporary impairments in immune function. Few studies, however, have investigated the effects of intense competitive exercise on immunoendocrine variables in elite team sport athletes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the time course of changes in selected immunoendocrine and inflammatory markers following an international rugby union game. Blood samples were taken from players (n = 10) on camp entry, the morning of the game (pre), immediately after (post) and 14 and 38 h into a passive recovery period. Players lost 1.4 ± 0.2 kg of body mass during the game (ambient conditions, 11°C, 45% RH). An acute phase inflammatory response was observed as reflected through immediate increases in serum cortisol and IL-6 (post) followed by delayed increases in serum creatine kinase (CK; 14 h) activity and C-reactive protein (CRP; 38 h); P < 0.05. Decreases in the number of circulating T lympocytes, NK cells and bacteria-stimulated neutrophil degranulation were also observed post-exercise (P < 0.05), indicative of decreased host immune protection. Following a large decrease in serum testosterone to cortisol (T/C) ratio immediately post and 14 h after exercise, T/C values then increased above those observed at camp entry 38 h into recovery (P < 0.05). This rebound anabolic stimulus may represent a physiological requirement for recovery following intense tissue damage resulting from game collisions. The findings also suggest that a game of international rugby elicits disturbances in host immunity, which last up 38 h into the recovery period.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr Lewis Fall, Mr John Woodside and Mr Kevin Evans of the University of Glamorgan for their help with data collection. Special thanks also to Mr Paul Jones and Mr Gareth Walters at University of Wales Institute Cardiff for assistance with data analysis and Dr Glen Davison (Aberystwyth University) for sound laboratory advice. Finally, we are very grateful to the players who kindly participated in this study and coordination of staff at the Wales Rugby Union. The authors declare that the experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors of this manuscript declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health, Exercise, Sport and Science, University of Glamorgan, Trefforest, CF37 1DL, Wales, UK

    Brian Cunniffe, Dean M. Whitcombe, Julien S. Baker & Bruce Davies

  2. Wales Rugby Union, Hensol, Nr Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, CF72 8JY, Wales, UK

    Brian Cunniffe & Andrew J. Hore

  3. Cardiff School of Health Sciences, University of Wales Institute Cardiff, Cardiff, CF5 2YB, Wales, UK

    Ken P. Jones

  4. Division of Sport and Exercise Science, School of Science, University of the West of Scotland, Hamilton Campus, Almada Street, Hamilton, ML3 0JB, Scotland, UK

    Julien S. Baker

  5. English Institute of Sport, Coleridge Road, Sheffield S9 5DA, UK

    Brian Cunniffe

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  1. Brian Cunniffe
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Correspondence to Brian Cunniffe.

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Cunniffe, B., Hore, A.J., Whitcombe, D.M. et al. Time course of changes in immuneoendocrine markers following an international rugby game. Eur J Appl Physiol 108, 113–122 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-009-1200-9

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