Abstract

Plasma Creatine Phosphokinase (CPK) dosage has been widely used to measure indirectly the muscle damage of athletes in different modalities. However, there are controversies regarding the expected values and peak time. Few studies have related the kinetics of CPK levels in relation of time after a soccer game. 43 professional soccer players, mean age 26.9±6.2 years, mean height 181.9±7.2 cm and mean body weight 78.9±6.7 kg. 930 dosages of CPK were performed and evaluated with Reflotron Plus (Roche) in different periods (11 to 66 hour) after official matches of Brazilian Championship during seasons of 2015 and 2016. The mean CPK value after game ranged from 243 to 1460 U/L, with an overall mean of 718 U/L. Individually, per athlete, the means in the 43 matches varied from 292 to 1559 U/L. The levels and the kinetics of CPK levels have individual characteristics in each athlete, demonstrating the importance of the individualization of evaluation to assign conclusions. The longer the recovery time the lower the values of CPK, so the values were higher in the first than in the second day after game.