The effects of the intake of an isotonic sports drink before orienteering competitions on skeletal muscle damage.
Filiz Fatma Colakoglu, Banu Cayci, Metin Yaman and 4 others
PMID 27942149WHAT IT FOUND
Drinking isotonic sports drink before orienteering did not reduce most blood markers of muscle damage compared with water.
Only 2-hour myoglobin was lower. Both groups showed higher blood markers after competition.
Key findings
01The isotonic drink group and water group were similar for all measured muscle damage markers except myoglobin 2 hours after competition.
02Myoglobin was lower in the isotonic drink group than in the water group 2 hours after competition.
03Troponin, myoglobin and CK increased after competition and at 2 hours in both groups, while LDH did not show a significant change.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
Only 21 athletes were studied, with 11 in the drink group and 10 in the water group. The participants were male elite orienteering athletes, so the findings may not apply to women, recreational athletes, other sports, or patients. The reported outcomes were blood marker levels, not soreness, performance, injury or recovery. The between-group comparison was negative for most markers, while the Discussion states a protective effect. The supplied text gives little detail about allocation concealment or how blinding was maintained.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that isotonic sports drink prevents muscle damage in athletes. The drink group and water group were similar for most blood markers, and the only reported significant difference was lower 2-hour myoglobin. The study measured blood marker levels, not soreness, performance or injury.