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Review
. 2023 Apr 11:14:1167449.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1167449. eCollection 2023.

Biomarkers of post-match recovery in semi-professional and professional football (soccer)

Affiliations
Review

Biomarkers of post-match recovery in semi-professional and professional football (soccer)

Íñigo M Pérez-Castillo et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

High-level football (soccer) players face intense physical demands that result in acute and residual fatigue, impairing their physical performance in subsequent matches. Further, top-class players are frequently exposed to match-congested periods where sufficient recovery times are not achievable. To evaluate training and recovery strategies, the monitoring of players' recovery profiles is crucial. Along with performance and neuro-mechanical impairments, match-induced fatigue causes metabolic disturbances denoted by changes in chemical analytes that can be quantified in different body fluids such as blood, saliva, and urine, thus acting as biomarkers. The monitoring of these molecules might supplement performance, neuromuscular and cognitive measurements to guide coaches and trainers during the recovery period. The present narrative review aims to comprehensively review the scientific literature on biomarkers of post-match recovery in semi-professional and professional football players as well as provide an outlook on the role that metabolomic studies might play in this field of research. Overall, no single gold-standard biomarker of match-induced fatigue exists, and a range of metabolites are available to assess different aspects of post-match recovery. The use of biomarker panels might be suitable to simultaneously monitoring these broad physiological processes, yet further research on fluctuations of different analytes throughout post-match recovery is warranted. Although important efforts have been made to address the high interindividual heterogeneity of available markers, limitations inherent to these markers might compromise the information they provide to guide recovery protocols. Further research on metabolomics might benefit from evaluating the long-term recovery period from a high-level football match to shed light upon new biomarkers of post-match recovery.

Keywords: biomarker; fatigue; football; metabolomics; monitoring; recovery; soccer.

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Conflict of interest statement

ÍP-C, RR, and HB were employed by Abbott Laboratories. JL-C and NM were employed by Real Madrid.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Schematic representation of mechanisms of football match-induced fatigue and potential recovery markers. MD, match-day.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Data from studies reporting percentage increases in circulating CK levels of male football players during post-match recovery. Data presented as percentage increase during recovery compared with pre-match values. The estimation of the average CK response was calculated by pooling CK percentage increases as mean ±SEM at the different time-points. CK, creatine kinase; SEM, standard error of the mean. Citations: (Ascensao et al., 2008; Daab et al., 2021; Fatouros et al., 2010; Ispirlidis et al., 2008; Magalhães et al., 2010; Mohr et al., 2016; Wiig et al., 2022).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Biomarkers of oxidative status during post-match recovery. 8-OH-Dg, 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine; CAT, catalase; EIMD, exercise-induced muscle damage; FRAP, ferric reducing antioxidant potential; GHS:GSSG, glutathione to glutathione disulfide ratio; GPX, glutathione peroxidase; MD, Match-day; MDA, malondialdehyde; ORAC, oxygen radical antioxidant capacity; RNS, reactive nitrogen species; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SOD, superoxide dismutase; TAC, total antioxidant capacity; TAS, total antioxidant status; TBARS, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances.

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