Introduction: Biomarkers provide a practical way to monitor musculoskeletal health. This study investigated the acute musculoskeletal and inflammatory response to a single session of high-volume plyometric exercise, focusing on biomarkers of muscle damage, inflammation, and cartilage metabolism. Methods: Twelve healthy adults (10 males, 2 females; 25.0 ± 6.3 yr) completed 10 sets of 10 leg press plyometric jumps at 40% of their one-repetition maximum. Blood samples were collected at baseline (PRE), immediately postexercise (POST), and at +15 min, +30 min, +1 h, +2 h, and +4 h postexercise. Serum concentrations of myoglobin (MYO), creatine kinase (CKi), lactate dehydrogenase, interleukin-6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), C-terminal telopeptide of type II collagen, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-1 and MMP-3) were analyzed. Data were analyzed with a repeated measures analysis of variance with Dunnett’s multiple comparisons. Results: MYO increased at all time points compared with PRE ( P < 0.05). CKi increased from +1 h to +4 h ( P < 0.05). No significant changes were observed for lactate dehydrogenase, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, MMP-1, or MMP-3. Interleukin-6 showed a main effect of time, but post hoc comparisons were not significant. COMP increased at POST and +15 min ( P < 0.05), while C-terminal telopeptide of type II collagen levels did not change. Conclusion: Plyometric exercise increases biomarkers of muscle damage and cartilage turnover, particularly MYO, CKi, and COMP. These results highlight the importance of temporal sampling in assessing exercise-induced physiological responses and support the use of this protocol as a model for evaluating interventions targeting musculoskeletal health.
Sczuroski et al. (2026) studied this question.