Post-exercise Therapeutic Modalities on Functional Performance, Muscle Damage and Oxidative Stress of CrossFit® Athletes

Crossfit® is a training modality that consists in functional movements, constantly varied and executed at high intensity. Both training sessions and competitions involve physically demanding activities, which in addition to being performed at very high intensity also involves the aerobic metabolism pathway. These characteristics led to very high metabolic and muscular stress, as well as decrease in physical performance immediately after competitions and training sessions. The cumulative effects of the metabolic and muscular stress can be a precursor of injuries. Studies using different therapeutic modalities aiming to improve post-exercise recovery are needed in order to tackle this issue.

Oxidative stress induced by exercise has been a research field in constant growth, due to its relationship with the processes of fatigue, decreased production of muscle strength, and its ability to cause damage to the cell.

To the date there are no studies comparing the effects of different therapeutic modalities applied after an exercise session on functional performance, muscle damage, and oxidative stress in an exercise modality such as Crossfit®.

Therefore, the aim of this project is to assess and compare the effects of different therapeutic modalities on functional performance, muscle damage, and oxidative stress of Crossfit® athletes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Exercise Recovery
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Passive recovery; Device: PBMT-sMF; Device: Shock wave; Device: Pneumatic compression

Detailed Description

A randomized, crossover, controlled trial will be carried out.

All volunteers will be allocated to four interventions, and the order of the interventions will be randomized.

The outcomes will be assessed at baseline (prior to the Workout of the Day - WOD), and in different timepoints after the WOD.

The WOD will be consisted in finishing as quickly as possible a sequence of three exercises (Calories in Assault AirBike®, Hang Squat Clean and Box Jump Over), in a well-known series model for the athletes, without rest.

The investigators will analyze functional performance, biochemical markers of muscle damage and oxidative stress, the ratings of perceived exertion, and the volunteers satisfaction with the interventions.

All data will be analyzed both in their absolute values and in relation to their percentage variation from the values obtained in the pre-WOD (baseline) assessments.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 12
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Brazil
  • SP
    • São Paulo, SP, Brazil, 01504-001
      • Laboratory of Phototherapy and Innovative Technologies in Health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria: - Crossfit® amateur male athletes; - Do not present a history of musculoskeletal injury in the regions of the hips, knees and calves in the month preceding the study; - Are not using pharmacological agents; - Athletes should have been practicing the sport for at least 1 year; - Voluntarily commit to participate in all stages of the study.

Exclusion Criteria: - Present musculoskeletal or joint injuries during data collection; - Present history of musculoskeletal injury in the regions of the hips, knees and calves in the month preceding the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: Control; Passive recovery for 30 minutes	Other: Passive recovery; Volunteers laid in supine position resting for 30 minutes.
Experimental: PBMT-sMF; Photobiomodulation therapy combined with static magnetic field, with a total treatment duration lasting for around 30 minutes.	Device: PBMT-sMF; PBMT-sMF applied in the lower limbs with different doses per muscle group.
Active Comparator: Shock wave; Shock wave therapy applied for 30 minutes.	Device: Shock wave; Shock wave therapy applied in the lower limbs for 30 minutes.
Active Comparator: Pneumatic compression; Pneumatic compression applied for 30 minutes.	Device: Pneumatic compression; Pneumatic compression applied in the lower limbs for 30 minutes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in functional performance	The functional performance will be assessed through the countermovement jump (CMJ) test.	1 hour after WOD (workout of the day).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participants' perceived exercise intensity	The perception of exercise intensity will be assessed through a 0-100 Ratings of Perceived Exertion Scale: in this scale lower score, means lower degree of fatigue and higher score, means higher degree of fatigue.	1 minute after WOD (workout of the day), 1 minute post-treatment/intervention, 1 hour, 24 hours and 48 hours after WOD.
Change in functional performance	The functional performance will be assessed through the countermovement jump (CMJ) test.	24 hours and 48 hours after WOD (workout of the day)
Change in the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)	The activity of LDH will be analyzed from the blood samples collected from the participants through spectrophotometry and using specific reagent kits.	1 hour, 24 hours and 48 hours after WOD (workout of the day).
Change in thiobarbituric acid (TBARS)	TBARS will be analyzed from the blood samples collected from the participants through spectrophotometry and using specific reagent kits.	1 hour, 24 hours and 48 hours after WOD (workout of the day).
Change in carbonylated proteins	Carbonylated proteins will be analyzed from the blood samples collected from the participants through spectrophotometry and using specific reagent kits.	1 hour, 24 hours and 48 hours after WOD (workout of the day).
Change in catalase (CAT) activity	CAT activity will be analyzed from the blood samples collected from the participants through spectrophotometry and using specific reagent kits.	1 hour, 24 hours and 48 hours after WOD (workout of the day).
Change in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity	SOD activity will be analyzed from the blood samples collected from the participants through spectrophotometry and using specific reagent kits.	1 hour, 24 hours and 48 hours after WOD (workout of the day).
Participants' satisfaction regarding the interventions	The participants satisfaction regarding the interventions will be assessed through the LIKERT scale.	48 hours after WOD (workout of the day).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Nove de Julho
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ernesto Cesar Pinto Leal Junior, Ph.D., M.Sc., PT., Nove de Julho University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 11, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 3, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): November 3, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 3, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 3, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): October 8, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 6, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 5, 2024
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Oxidative stress; Muscle damage; Exercise recovery; Therapeutic modalities
• Other Study ID Numbers: 3.997.120

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Data will be shared upon request addressed to the principal investigator.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: The data will become available six months after the manuscript publication for five years after that.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: All IPD that underlie results in a publication will be available on reasonable request.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: Yes