Dr.Biol., Associate Professor O.N. Oparina¹
PhD, Associate Professor N.V. Anisimova¹
PhD O.A. Dogurevich^1
1Penza State University, Penza

Keywords: adaptation, muscular load, hemic system, failure in adaptation, stress.

Introduction. Adaptation of man to strenuous exercises is a particularly difficult set of reactions aimed to optimize the functional state of various body organs and systems under new conditions and to maintain relative constancy of the body's internal environment. According to S.N. Khmeleva et al. [5], athletes engaged in cyclic sport disciplines are often characterized by the changes in the red blood cell system, associated with a decrease in the red blood cell count, hemoglobin level and serum iron concentration, which gave occasion to the introduction of such a term as "sports anemia". G.A. Makarova et al. [4] found that at all stages of active training elite athletes have significantly higher indices ​​of the red blood cell count and hemoglobin concentration. The authors explain this fact by two adaptive changes in the volume of circulating blood: first - optimal, which implies an equisignificant increase in the red blood cell count and plasma volume; second - characterized by prevailing hyperplasia, which is apparently typical of athletes with a lower level of functional capacities of the hematological system. In terms of the white blood cell count, no differences were associated with the level of sports skills, distance or period of the training cycle. However, it was found that the range of fluctuations of the white cell count is lower in athletes than in individuals blood not involved in muscular activity. V.N. Volkov et al. [2] showed that exercise, not adequate to the athlete's functional capabilities, causes suppression of cellular defense response, changes enzymatic activity and neutrophil energetics. When assessing the athletes’ immune status, Y.I. Bazhora and V.S. Sokolovskiy [1] found that athletes with many years of sports experience have certain changes in their immunogram: the lymphocyte level increases, the T-lymphocyte level decreases, the absolute number of B- and O-lymphocytes increases. The phagocytic component is characterized by a slight decrease in the absolute and relative numbers of neutrophils, mainly due to the segmented cells.

Objective of the study was to assess the applicability of the hemic system indicators in athletes and non-athletes in terms of adaptation to physical loads.

Methods and structure of the study. We studied the blood cell composition in 61 athletes aged 18-23 years: basketball players (n=17), track and field athletes (n=18), weightlifters (n=13), triathletes (n=13). The athletes were examined at various stages of the training process. The reference group was made of apparently healthy students not engaged in sports (n=13). The PWC₁₇₀ test was used as exercise. PWC₁₇₀ was determined using the "Sven sport" cycle ergometer. During the test load power and physical working capacity were calculated by the standard formula [3]. The statistical data processing was made by means of the software package MS Excel (Ver.5.0.), with the differences significance level of p£0.05.

Results and discussion. Short-term strenuous exercises cause a significant increase in the hemorheological indicators in the group of untrained individuals and track and field athletes; apparently, such loads serve as an irritant that makes the hemic mechanism react immediately. In other groups of athletes, we registered minor changes in the hemic system (Table 1).

Table 1. Hemorheological indicators in the examined groups before and after exercise

Note:

* the differences between the indicators before and after exercise are statistically significant (р<0.05).

There were no statistically significant differences in the white blood cell count in the athletes of various specializations (Table 2). The gradation of adaptive reactions of the body, based on the features of the lymphocyte count [5], showed that before exercise the calm lymphocytes activation response (the lymphocyte count - 33-38%) was detected in the groups of track and field athletes, basketball players and veterans of sport, the increased activation response (the lymphocyte count - 39-45%) - in the reference group and triathletes’ group, overactivation response (the lymphocyte count -  >45%) - in the group of weightlifters. After exercise, the increased activation response was observed in track and field athletes, basketball players and in the reference group, overactivation response - in the groups of weightlifters and triathletes.

Table 2. Comparative analysis of blood cell composition in the examined groups before and after exercise

Note:

* the differences before the indicators in the groups are statistically significant (p<0.05).

It is known that deterioration in the functional state of the body is more often associated with a decrease in the range of fluctuations in the lymphocyte counts. The growing number of leukocytes after physical los is an indirect criterion of the energy orientation of the work performed [6]. Disadaptation of the body develops as a result of overstrain of the adaptation mechanisms and involvement of compensatory reactions due to strenuous exercises and insufficient rest intervals.

After exercise the reaction of disadaptation was detected in 6 individuals of the reference group and in 17 student-athletes.

The reaction of disadaptation after exercise was characterized by the following objective features: blush; excessive body perspiration; shallow breathing with separate deep breaths, followed by erratic breathing; staggering on completing exercise.

In 6 cases (in individuals of the reference group), a pronounced reaction of disadaptation was observed in the form of cold sticky sweat, dizziness, nausea, pain in the right hypochondrium and muscles, palpitation.

The hemorheological indicators in the examined groups, depending on their response to exercise, are presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Hemorheological indicators in the examined groups depending on response to exercise

Note:

* the differences between the indicators in the groups with adaptation and disadaptation are statistically significant (p<0.05),

** the differences between the indicators in the groups before and after exercise are statistically significant (p<0.05).

The hemorheological indicators of the blood before exercise were higher in the subjects with adaptation than in those with disadaptation to exercise (Table 3). A decrease or insignificant increase in the studied indicators was noted in the subjects with disadaptation. Consequently, exercise is an extremely powerful irritant resulting in the enhancement of the bone marrow function and the release of the stored blood into the common blood stream.

Table 4. Comparative analysis of blood cell composition in the examined groups depending on response to exercise

Note:

* the differences between the indicators in the groups with adaptation and disadaptation are statistically significant (p<0.05),

** the differences between the indicators in the groups before and after exercise are statistically significant (p<0.05).

The non-athletes with adaptation to exercise were characterized by the calm lymphocyte activation response at rest (the lymphocyte count 33-38%), which was maintained after exercise, the non-athletes with disadaptation – by the overactivation response (the lymphocyte count - 45%), which was maintained after exercise. The athletes with adaptation to exercise were found to have increased lymphocyte activation response (the lymphocyte count - 39-45%), and overactivation response after exercise. The athletes with disadaptation at rest demonstrated the calm activation response, and increased activation response after exercise (the lymphocyte count - 39-45%). In the athletes with disadaptation to exercise, a more significant individual range of fluctuations of leukocytes was noted (Table 4).

Conclusion. Therefore, the informative value of the integrated survey of athletes increases significantly when assessing the blood values in dynamics - before and after muscular exercise at different stages of the annual training cycle, which makes it possible to determine the reserve capabilities of a number of blood system indicators.

References

1. Bazhora Y.I., Sokolovskiy V.S. Immunny status sportsmena i kriterii ego otsenki [Athlete's immune status and evaluation criteria]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 1991, no. 5, pp.8-10.
2. Volkov V.N., Isaev A.P., Bazhanova S.S., Gavrish T.V. Immunologiya sporta [Sports immunology]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 1995, no. 10, pp.12-14.
3. Karpman V.L., Belotserkovskiy Z.B., Gudkov I.A. Testirovanie v sportivnoy meditsine [Testing in sports medicine]. Moscow: FiS publ., 1988, 208 p.
4. Makarova G.A., Yakobashvili V.A., Loktev S.A. Pokazateli krovi v sisteme otsenki funktsionalnogo sostoyaniya organizma sportsmenov [Blood indicators in body's functional state evaluation system in athletes]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 1991, no. 8, pp.45-48.
5. Khmeleva S.N., Bureeva A.A., Davydov V.Y., Vasilyev N.D. Adaptatsiya k fizicheskim nagruzkam i ee mediko-biologicheskie kharakteristiki u sportsmenov tsiklicheskikh vidov sporta [Adaptation to exercises and its biomedical characteristics in cyclic athletes]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 1997, no. 4, pp.19-21.