Wrestling, White Blood Cells, and Inflammation

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Wrestling Boosts Immune System of Adolescent Boys

Source: British Medical Journal

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/503891/?sc=wire

BRITISH JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE

[Effect of intense wrestling exercise on leucocytes and adhesion

molecules in adolescent boys 2004; 38: 154-8]

Wrestling boosts the immune system, reveals a small study of adolescent

boys in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

While research has shown that exercise boosts the immune system in

adults, little research has been done on children, especially under

field conditions. Evidence is beginning to accumulate which suggests

that children go through distinct developmental periods that in turn

influence the extent to which exercise and fitness affect subsequent growth.

Researchers tested the circulating levels of white blood cells and other

indicators of immune system responsiveness, before and after a 1.5 hour

session of wrestling in eleven 14 to 18 year old boys.

The levels of all groups of white blood cells rose significantly after

the exercise, particularly natural killer cells.

Natural killer cells are the body's first line defence against cancer

cells and cells infected by viruses. They search out the equivalent of a

'flag' carried by normal cells, and those without are blasted with a

potent cocktail of chemicals to kill them off.

Chemicals involved in inflammation also surged in response to the

exercise, and the authors comment that as yet, the precise role of these

changes is not yet known. But they suggest that white cell responses to

exercise during childhood and adolescence may be important for the

development of the immune system for overall growth.

Click here to view the full paper:

http://press.psprings.co.uk/bjsm/april/154_sm2576.pdf

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