Key result
Regular football practice is linked to higher parasympathetic modulation and ~18% longer R-R intervals versus inactive controls.
Why the study?
The importance of physical activity on autonomic nervous system function was investigated by comparing short-term heart rate variability between football players and inactive controls.
Does regular physical activity in the form of football improve short-term heart rate variability and autonomic tone in young adults?
Case-Control (n=80)
Does regular physical activity in the form of football improve short-term heart rate variability and autonomic tone in young adults?
Regular physical activity through football training shifts the autonomic nervous system toward parasympathetic dominance, as evidenced by improved heart rate variability indices.
May support football for autonomic health in active adults; leaves open clinical translation to cardiovascular outcomes, needing prospective trials.
Background/Objectives: The present study was done to explain the importance of physical activity (PA) on autonomic nervous system. We have compared the short-term heart rate variability (HRV) between football players and normal controls lacking PA, fitness, and exercise.Design: Case–control study.Methods: The sample included 40 football players and 40 controls with age group between 17 and 26 years. Individuals with minimum 5 years of football practice were included and morphological variables (weight, height, and body mass index) were recorded in all of them. Five minutes lead II electrocardiography recorded in supine position in the morning and R-R intervals were analyzed in Kubios software.Results: Time domain parameters of average mean R-R interval (1014 ± 286.12 ms vs. 860.28 ± 362.4 ms), standard deviation of the NN (89.81 ± 18.14 ms vs. 63.9 ± 31.27 ms), root mean square of successive difference (76.95 ± 24.20 ms vs. 43.19 ± 29.83 ms), and pNN 50% (39.16 ± 16.87% vs. 23.46 ± 19.43%) were significantly higher in the study group than the control group. Higher frequency power band (71.23 ± 11.59 n.u vs. 54.90 ± 17.3 n.u) showed significant higher value while low-frequency (LF) power band (29.66 ± 15.13 n.u vs. 47.23 ± 13.84 n.u) and LF/high-frequency ratio (0.964 ± 0.286 vs. 2.04 ± 0.459) of frequency domain parameters showed significant reduction among the football players.Conclusion: The present study explains that regular PA in the form of football shifts the autonomic system toward parasympathetic domination. The indices of HRV can be useful to monitor the effects of football training on parasympathetic modulation and to the periods of stress and recovery.
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Loganathan et al. (2017) reported a case-control. Regular football practice vs. Normal controls lacking physical activity, fitness, and exercise was evaluated on Short-term heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. Regular football practice was associated with significantly higher parasympathetic modulation compared to inactive controls, including a higher average mean R-R interval (1014 vs 860 ms).
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