Table 4.
Characteristics and timing of analysis of muscle damage markers.
| Reference | Damage Markers | POS | 30 min | 1 h | 2 h | 3 h | 4 h | 24 h | 48 h | 72 h | 7 Days | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deminice et al., 2010 [35] | 1. CK | ↑ CK | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Proposed session-specific HIIT induces increased creatine kinase in competitive swimmers. |
| Joo, 2015 [27] |
1. CK * 2. Mb 3. Pain-VAS 4. Muscle Pain Sensitivity (distal myotendinous junction and middle belly of rectus femoris) * 5. MVC * |
↑ Mb | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ↑ Mb |
↔ Mb ↑ Pain-VAS |
↔ Mb ↔ Pain-VAS |
↔ Mb ↑ Pain-VAS |
The results show that, in moderately trained subjects used to high-intensity exercise, the exercise protocol used in this study was able to increase post-exercise myoglobin levels as well as muscle pain perception 48 h after the protocol. No other marker changed. |
| Wiewelhove et al., 2016 [9] | 1. CK 2. Pain-VAS * 3. CMJ |
N/A | HIIT-P240 * CK HIIT-5 ↓ CMJ |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | HIIT-P240 ↑ CK HIIT-5 ↑ CK ↓ CMJ |
N/A | N/A | N/A | The HIIT-P240 straight running and the HIIT-P5 sprint showed an increase in CK 24 h after exercise. HIIT-P5 showed a CMJ reduction 30 min and 24 h after exercise, which suggests that short intervals of high-intensity training possibly cause greater muscle damage compared to long intervals of submaximal-intensity training. |
| Cipryan, 2016 [36] |
1. CK 2. Mb |
WT ↑ CK ↑ Mb MT ↑ CK ↑ Mb UT ↑ CK ↑ Mb |
N/A | N/A | WT ↔ CK ↑ Mb MT ↑ CK ↑ Mb UT ↑ CK ↑ Mb |
N/A | WT ↔ CK ↑ Mb MT ↑ CK ↑ Mb UT ↑ CK ↑ Mb |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Although the HIIT protocol increased markers of exercise-induced muscle damage, CK and Mb increases were less pronounced in well-trained athletes compared to moderately trained or untrained individuals. |
| Fanchini et al., 2016 [37] |
1. CK 2. LDH 3. AST 4. ALT |
Wingate test values in the stationary bicycle performed before the upper and lower limbs training period. HIIT-L ↑ CK ↑ LDH ↑ AST ↑ ALT All vs. PRE for both tests HIIT-U ↑ CK ↑ LDH ↑ AST ↑ ALT All vs. PRE for both tests HIIT-UK ↑ CK ↑ LDH ↑ AST ↑ ALT All vs. PRE for both tests |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Both Wingate tests in stationary bicycle (lower and upper segment) increased muscle damage markers (CK, LDH, AST, and ALT) compared to pre-test in HIIT-I, HIIT-S, and HIIT-UK groups. |
| Cyprian, 2017 [38] |
1. CK 2. Mb 3. LDH |
HIIT 15 s/15 s ↑ CK ↑ Mb ↑ LDH HIIT 30 s/30 s ↑ CK ↑ Mb ↑ LDH HIIT 60 s/60 s ↑ CK ↑ Mb ↑ LDH |
N/A | N/A | N/A | HIIT 15 s/15 s ↑ CK ↑ Mb ↑ LDH HIIT 30 s/30 s ↔ CK ↑ Mb ↑ LDH HIIT 60 s/60 s ↔ CK ↑ Mb ↑ LDH |
N/A | HIIT 15 s/15 s ↑ CK ↔ Mb ↑ LDH HIIT 30 s/30 s ↑ CK ↔ Mb ↑ LDH HIIT 60 s/60 s ↑ CK ↑ Mb ↑ LDH |
N/A | N/A | N/A | All three HIIT protocols with short intervals and fixed external work caused an immediate elevation in muscle damage markers in circulation. However, these changes differed, prejudicing to assess the magnitude of exercise-induced muscle damage. The HIIT 30 s/30 s protocol showed a lower response in Mb. |
| Cipryan et al., 2017 [17] |
1. CK * 2. Mb |
For both ET and ST athletes: 3 min HIIT ↑ Mb HIIT-30 s ↑ Mb |
N/A | For both ET and ST athletes: 3 min HIIT ↑ Mb HIIT-30 s ↑ Mb |
N/A | For both ET and ST athletes: 3 min HIIT ↑ Mb HIIT-30 s ↑ Mb |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Markers of muscle damage monitored during the initial recovery failed to show any differences between individuals trained in endurance and sprint. Despite this, Mb values showed a moderate response 1 h and 3 h after the 30 min and 30 s HIIT session. The control group showed no change in markers. |
| Spada et al., 2018 [39] |
1. CK 2. Mb 3. Pain-Borg CR10 |
N/A | N/A | N/A | ↑ CK ↑ Mb ↑ Pain |
N/A | N/A | ↑ CK ↑ Mb ↑ Pain |
N/A | N/A | N/A | A single session of HIIT in healthy and young individuals caused increases in CK, Mb, and pain, indicating the occurrence of muscle damage. |
| Farias-Junior et al., 2019 [40] | 1. PPT 2. PPTol 3. PPI Muscles analyzed: rectus femoris, biceps femoris, and gastrocnemius |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | HIIE RF ↑ PPI BF ↑ PPI G ↓ PPTol |
N/A | N/A | N/A | Low-volume HIIE session elicited mild DOMS 24 h post exercise in untrained healthy males, which was similar to the traditional CE session. |
| Farias-Junior et al., 2019a [41] | 1. CK 2. LDH 3. PPT 4. PPTol 5. EVA-PPI Muscles analyzed: rectus femoris, biceps femoris, and gastrocnemius |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ↑ CK G ↓ PPTol |
↑ CK BF ↑ PPI G ↔ PPTol |
N/A | N/A | The subjects showed modest exercise-induced muscle damage for all individuals. |
| Timón et al., 2019 [42] |
1. CK 2. LDH * 3. AST 4. ALT 5. CMJ * 6. PT |
WOD1 ↑ CK ↑ AST ↑ ALT ↓ TP WOD2 ↑ CK ↑ AST ↑ ALT ↓ TP |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | WOD1 ↑ CK ↔ AST ↔ ALT ↓ PT WOD2 ↑ CK ↑ AST ↑ ALT ↓ TP |
WOD1 ↔ CK ↔ AST ↔ ALT ↔ PT WOD2 ↔ CK ↔ AST ↔ ALT ↔ PT |
N/A | N/A | The effort intensity during WOD2 was higher than during WOD1. The performance of both CrossFit sessions (WOD1 and 2) caused significant changes in transaminases, markers of muscle damage, and reduction in physical performance. All values returned to baseline values in 48 h. |
| Gomes et al., 2020 [43] |
1. CK | EXP ↑ CK BEG ↑ CK ALL ↑ CK |
EXP ↑ CK BEG ↑ CK ALL ↑ CK |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | EXP ↑ CK BEG ↑ CK ALL ↑ CK |
N/A | N/A | N/A | A single HIFT session significantly increased CK levels in both EXPs and BEGs. |
| Boullosa et al., 2021 [44] |
1. CK 2. Pain–VAS 3. MC |
Concentric protocol ↑ CK Eccentric protocol * CK |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Concentric protocol ↔ CK * Pain–VAS * TC Eccentric protocol ↑ CK ↑ Pain–VAS ↑ MC |
N/A | N/A | N/A | Single-session HIIT protocols are able to change damage markers mainly within 24 h. |
| Alves et al., 2023 [45] |
1. Countermovement vertical jump height (CVJH) * 2. PPT * 3. PPTol * 4. EVA–PPI * Muscles analyzed: rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), and gastrocnemius (G). |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | For both groups (60/60 LV-HIIT and 30/30 LV-HIIT) No change |
For both groups (60/60 LV-HIIT and 30/30 LV-HIIT) No change |
N/A | N/A | The LV-HIIT sessions with different work–recovery durations (i.e., 10 × 60 s or 20 × 30 s at 100% of Vmax), matched by work–recovery ratio and total work performed (i.e., 1:1 and 10 min, respectively), elicit nonsignificant changes in exercise-induced muscle damage markers (i.e., DOMS and CVJH) following 24 and 48 h in recreationally trained men. |
| Rohnejad and Monazzami, 2023 [46] |
1. CK 2. LDH 3. AST 4. ALT |
N/A | N/A | ↑ CK ↑ LDH ↑ ALT ↑ AST |
N/A | N/A | N/A | ↑ CK ↔ LDH ↔ ALT ↔ AST |
↑ CK ↔ LDH ↔ ALT ↔ AST |
N/A | N/A | The findings revealed that HIIT training led to a significant change in muscle damage variables in the training group in one hour after the training compared to the pre-test. Furthermore, the results showed that at 24 h and 48 h after training, no difference was observed between the training and control groups in the variables of LDH, ALT, and AST. |
↑, Increase; ↓, Decrease; ↔, Return to baseline values; *, there was no change in the evaluated variable; N/A, not evaluated at this time; CK, creatine kinase; Mb, myoglobin; Pain-VAS, perception of muscle pain—visual analogic scale; MVC, maximum voluntary contraction; CMJ, countermovement jump; CVJH, countermovement vertical jump height; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; MC, muscle circumference; PT, plank test; WT, well trained; MT, moderately trained; UT, untrained; ET, endurance trained; ST, sprint trained; BEG, beginner; EXP, experienced; PPT, pressure–pain threshold (minimal pressure that induced pain); PPTol, pressure–pain tolerance (maximal pressure supported by the participant, i.e., highest level of pain tolerated by the participant); PPI, EVA—perceived pain intensity (was assessed using a visual analog scale, with “no pain” at one end of a 100 mm line and “worst possible pain” at the other).