Strength Loss After Eccentric Exercise Is Related to Oxidative Stress but Not Muscle Damage Biomarkers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) time-dependent changes in muscle damage (MD) biomarkers, oxidative stress (OS) indices, and maximum strength performance; (b) the relationship between changes in maximum strength performance and changes in MD and OS indices; and (c) whether eccentric exercise-induced MD is related to OS. Method: Twenty-nine male volunteers (age: 22.13 ± 3.1 years) participated in the study. Participants performed 60 maximal eccentric actions of the elbow flexors at a constant velocity of 60°·s^-1. Maximum isokinetic strength (MIS), visual analog scale soreness scores, serum creatine kinase (CK) activity, total antioxidant status, total oxidant status (TOS), protein carbonyl (PCO), and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine level were analyzed. Blood samples were obtained before, immediately after, and 24 h, 48 h, and 96 h after the eccentric exercise. Change in total work (%ΔTWk), peak torque (%ΔPT), and OS index were calculated. Results: CK, PCO, and TOS significantly increased over time (p < .05). However, no significant main effect was observed for MIS or any other investigated biomarkers (p > .05). MIS was not related to MD or OS indices. However, %ΔTWk demonstrated a moderate inverse correlation with OS indices. No significant relationship was observed between %ΔPT and any of the selected biomarkers. Conclusions: Our findings confirm the hypothesis that acute eccentric exercise increases MD biomarkers and OS indices. However, indices of OS damage were significantly related, particularly, to the strength loss of flexors. This finding suggests that the decline in strength performance is not the primary determinant of the magnitude of MD following voluntary eccentric contraction.