Abstract
Tennis played at an elite level requires intensive training
characterized by repeated bouts of brief intermittent high intensity exercise
over relatively long periods of time (1 - 3 h or
more). Competition can place additional stress on players. The purpose of this
study was to investigate the temporal association between specific components
of tennis training and competition, the incidence of upper respiratory tract
infections (URTI), and salivary IgA, in a cohort of seventeen elite female
tennis players. Timed, whole unstimulated saliva samples were collected before
and after selected 1-h training sessions at 2 weekly intervals, over 12 weeks.
Salivary IgA concentration was measured by ELISA and IgA secretion rate
calculated (µg
IgA × ml-1 × ml saliva
× min-1). Players reported URTI symptoms and recorded
training and competition in daily logs. Data analysis showed that higher
incidence of URTI was significantly associated with increased training duration
and load, and competition level, on a weekly basis. Salivary IgA secretion rate
(S-IgA) dropped significantly after 1 hour of tennis play. Over the 12-week
period, pre-exercise salivary IgA concentration and secretion rate were
directly associated with the amount of training undertaken during the previous
day and week (p < 0.05). However, the decline in S-IgA after
1 h of intense tennis play was also positively related to the duration
and load of training undertaken during the previous day and week
(p < 0.05). Although exercise-induced suppression of salivary
IgA may be a risk factor, it could not accurately predict the occurrence of
URTI in this cohort of athletes.
Key words
Intermittent exercise - elite female athletes - secretory immunity
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A. Novas
School of Human Movement Studies · Queensland University of
Technology
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