Key result
Playing >60 minutes per soccer match is linked to altered autonomic recovery up to 72 hours post-match.
Why the study?
Monitoring heart rate variability to assess autonomic nervous system function changes during national soccer team training camps was needed to understand fatigue and recovery.
Does playing more than 60 minutes in a soccer match disturb cardiac-autonomic regulation compared to reserve players during national team training camps?
Observational (n=23)
Does playing more than 60 minutes in a soccer match disturb cardiac-autonomic regulation compared to reserve players during national team training camps?
p-value: p=0.024
Soccer matches, but not training sessions, significantly disturb cardiac-autonomic regulation for up to 72 hours in professional players who play at least 60 minutes.
Daily lnRMSSD monitoring may track ANS changes in professional soccer players; leaves open effects on training, performance, or recovery.
Purpose: Heart rate variability (HRV) can be used to monitor changes in autonomic nervous system (ANS) function. Monitoring HRV via the natural log of the root-mean-square difference of successive normal RR intervals (lnRMSSD), a decrease was related to lower parasympathetic activity and a fatigued state, and an increase was related to higher parasympathetic activity and better physical conditioning. This study analyzed daily ANS function changes among professional soccer players at national team training camps during preparation for the UEFA Eurocup 2016. Method: 23 professional soccer players were distributed into two groups: First eleven (players who played more than 60 minutes per soccer match) and Reserves (the rest of the players). HRV and session training load (s-TL) were monitored. Between-group daily differences were assessed using two-way mixed repeated measures ANOVA. Results: s-TL significantly increased (p < .05) at the beginning of each camp and significantly decreased the day before the soccer match (p < .001). There was a significant time by group interaction in lnRMSSD (p = .024). Changes were found in the First eleven group from match day +1 to match day +2 (+0.523 ms, p = .003). After the soccer match, there were between-group differences (p < .05) at +24h and +72h in lnRMSSD. Conclusions: During national team training camps, ANS function was only modified 24h and 72h after playing soccer matches, in players who played a minimum of 60 minutes. This knowledge can help coaches to monitor the impact of soccer matches during training camps to detect fatigue and improve recovery.
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Muñoz‐López et al. (2020) conducted an observational in Professional soccer players (n=23). Playing >60 minutes per soccer match (First eleven) vs. Reserves (the rest of the players) was evaluated on Heart rate variability (lnRMSSD) (p=0.024). Playing >60 minutes in a soccer match significantly altered autonomic nervous system function at 24h and 72h post-match compared to reserve players (time by group interaction p=0.024).
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