title: Cardiac parasympathetic reactivation after small-sided soccer games and repeated sprints in untrained healthy adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been shown that recreational soccer was a highly motivating and social activity which produces large improvements in health-related indices in sedentary healthy and unhealthy subjects. The purpose of this study was to compare the acute parasympathetic reactivation after small-sided soccer games (SSG) and repeated sprints training (RST) sessions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight post-pubertal untrained adolescents (age 15.8±0.6 years, body mass 59.1±3.7 kg, height 1.7±0.1 m) performed a RST, SSG and a control session in a counterbalanced order. Heart rate variability (HRV) indices in time and frequency domain, heart rate recovery and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RPE was significantly lower after SSG compared with RST (P=0.02, ES=1.1). There was a significant decrease in mean R-R intervals after RST (difference: -19.6%, P<0.01, ES=1.7) and after SSG (-19.2%, P<0.01, ES=2.3). A significant decrease was also noted in SDNN after RST (-26.6%, P=0.02, ES=1.8) and SSG (-37.8%, P=0.01, ES=1.1). For RMSSD, a significant decrease was observed only after SSG (48%, P=0.01, ES=1.3). No significant change in all HRV indices after the control condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SSG and RST elicited high and similar heart rates responses. A low parasympathetic reactivation during early recovery was noted after both RST and SSG. These results were important especially for clinician looking to prescribe repeated sprint or small-sided game for sedentary subjects.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia - hammamiamri@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Amri
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hammami
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory on Sport Performance Optimization, National Center of Medicine and Sciences in Sport (CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Sofien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasmi
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory on Sport Performance Optimization, National Center of Medicine and Sciences in Sport (CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Narimen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yousfi
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory on Sport Performance Optimization, National Center of Medicine and Sciences in Sport (CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Marwa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bouamra
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Zouhaier
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tabka
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Ezdine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bouhlel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D000072696:High-Intensity Interval Training; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology; D012916:Soccer / Q000502:physiology