Influence of Aminotransferase Enzyme on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness among Novice Athletes: A Pilot Single-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a familiar experience for the elite as well as the novice
athlete. One of the most popular concepts in the lay exercise community is that delayed soreness is a result of
metabolic waste product accumulation in the muscles. Objective: To evaluate the pattern of changes in serum
aminotransferase level after performing a different intensity of eccentric exercises and to find a suitable
percentage of one repetition maximum (1RM) to be selected for inducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Materials and Methods: A total of 48 novice athletes was selected and a simple random sampling technique with the lottery method was adopted to participate in this three group, a pilot single-blind, randomized clinical study. After collection of demographic data, the athletes were allotted to the group based on the chits what they have picked. Group A consists 70 % of 1 RM, Group B consist 80 % of 1 RM and Group C consist 90 % of 1 RM taken for the induction of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) experimentally. Blood samples
were collected at the baseline and 24 hours,48 hours,72 hours & 96 hours after inducing DOMS. Alanine
aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were considered as dependent variables and values displayed in the instrument were noted. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA and one-way analysis of variance were adopted to analyse the statistical difference between the groups. The p-value less than 5% (0.05) is considered to be significant. There exists no significant difference between the three groups at baseline to 24 hour measurements at (P > 0.05). On the other hand, a statistically significant difference was found between three groups at 48 hours,72 hours & 96 hours at (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Based on the changes occurred in
serum aminotransferase levels, the study concluded that 80% of 1 RM were experimentally a standardized procedure for the induction of DOMS.