Changes in blood leucocyte and neutrophil counts after a rugby match
| Total leucocytes (/μl) | Neutrophils (/μl) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complete rest | Active rest | Complete rest | Active rest | |
| Results are expressed as mean (SD). After the match players either relaxed completely (complete rest group) or incorporated some exercise into their relaxation (active rest group). | ||||
| *p<0.05, **p<0.01 compared with the value immediately after the match. | ||||
| Before | 6700.0 (750.6)** | 6350.0 (680.3)** | 3021.4 (829.4)** | 2448.3 (358.3)** |
| After | 10971.4 (2330.7) | 10075.0 (2738.0) | 8151.1 (3280.1) | 7080.1 (2499.5) |
| 1 day after | 8585.7 (807.1)** | 8012.5 (2088.4)* | 4583.0 (1288.2)** | 3485.5 (960.8)** |
| 2 days after | 7042.9 (1144.3)** | 6750.0 (1088.9)* | 3273.1 (1169.5)** | 3141.7 (744.1)** |