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Abstract
Several authors have suggested that estrogen may serve to protect skeletal muscle
from exercise-induced damage. The present study examined the effects of regularly
ingesting estrogen, in the form of oral contraceptives, on postexercise muscle damage
following a bench-stepping regimen. Women currently ingesting oral contraceptives
(OC) were compared with eumennorheic controls (CG). All subjects performed a 50-min
stepping exercise during the midluteal phase of their menstrual cycle. Muscle damage
was evaluated on 2, 3, and 5 days postexercise using several established indirect
indicators: perceived soreness, strength and range of motion changes, girth measurements,
and creatine kinase (CK) activity. Subjects on OC reported significantly lower quadriceps
soreness (p < 0.05) relative to the CG (peak soreness = 4.0 and 7.8, respectively,
on a scale of 1–10 where 1 is normal and 10 is very, very sore). These results indicate
that oral contraceptive use attenuates soreness following an exhaustive stepping activity
but cannot support a relationship between estrogen ingestion and other indices of
exercise-induced muscle damage.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
April 4,
1997
Received in revised form:
April 4,
1997
Received:
February 7,
1997
Identification
Copyright
© 1997 Published by Elsevier Inc.
