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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1476627
This article is part of the Research Topic Training Load in Sport: Current Challenges and Future Perspectives View all 19 articles

Impact of A Brief Series of Soccer Matches on Vascular Conditions in Youth Women

Provisionally accepted
Jun Sugawara Jun Sugawara 1*Nana Ogoh Nana Ogoh 2Hironori Watanabe Hironori Watanabe 3Shotaro Saito Shotaro Saito 3Maki Osuga Maki Osuga 4Tetsuya Hasewagawa Tetsuya Hasewagawa 4Narumi Kunimatsu Narumi Kunimatsu 3Shigehiko Ogoh Shigehiko Ogoh 3
  • 1 National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, Japan
  • 2 Kagawa Nutrition University, Sakado, Japan
  • 3 Toyo University, Bunkyō, Tōkyō, Japan
  • 4 Chifure AS Elfen Saitama, Saitama, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Accumulative excessive physical load elevates central arterial stiffness and smooth muscular tone of peripheral vascular beds in endurance athletes. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that a brief series of soccer matches would increase central arterial stiffness and arterial wave reflection from the periphery in young female football players. Fifteen subjects (17.2 ± 0.7 years, mean ± SD) participated in four matches over five consecutive days (one match per day, with two consecutive days of matches followed by one rest day, repeated twice) in the Youth Girls Soccer Tournament, either as starters or substitutes. Heart rate, blood pressure (BP), and the second derivative of the photoplethysmogram (SDPTG) were assessed the night before and 4 hours after each match. The ratios of the first and second descending waves to the first ascending wave of SDPTG (B/A ratio and D/A ratio) were calculated as indices of central arterial stiffness and peripheral wave reflection, respectively. The intra-individual relationship among interest variables was evaluated using the repeated-measures correlation analysis (rmcorr). Post-match D/A ratio, systolic and diastolic BP were lower compared to the pre-match value, while the B/A ratio did not change significantly. Heart rate was higher post-than pre-match. Rmcorr demonstrated significant intra-individual correlations of the D/A ratio with diastolic BP (rrm=0.259, P=0.008) and heart rate (rrm=-0.380, P<0.001). Contrary to our hypothesis, a brief series of matches did not increase central arterial stiffness in young female football players. Instead, the matches induced a repeated, temporary attenuation of arterial wave reflection. This attenuated arterial wave reflection from the periphery appeared to be associated with reduced diastolic BP and a compensatory increase in heart rate.

    Keywords: Finger photoplethysmogram, arterial stiffness, wave reflection, Soccer, Women

    Received: 06 Aug 2024; Accepted: 13 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sugawara, Ogoh, Watanabe, Saito, Osuga, Hasewagawa, Kunimatsu and Ogoh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jun Sugawara, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tokyo, 305-8566, Japan

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