Analyzing Muscle Damage (CK-MM) and Recovery of Muscle Strength between Non-Professional and Professional Basketball Athletes

Background. Basketball is considered to be one of the most popular sports. Besides recreational training sessions, basketball lovers as non-professional athletes often perform competitions like basketball athletes, characterized by high intensity. However, the biological changing is limited. Objectives. This study aimed to analyze the differences between basketball lovers as non-professional athletes and professional athletes regarding their blood CK-MM levels and their recovery of muscle strength. Materials and methods. The present study was an analytical observation, involving adult males subjects (19-29 years old) divided into 2 groups: non-professional athletes (NP, n=9) and professional athletes (PA, n=9). The blood CK-MM levels were measured using the ELISA method. The push, pull, leg, and back muscle strength were assessed with a dynamometer. The data were obtained 3 times: before (pre), 1 hour after the game (post1), and 1 day after the game (post2). Results. The results showed that there was a higher muscle strength in the PA group compared with the NP group (p < 0.05). However, in both groups, the recovery of all muscle strength, except push muscle, did not occur after 1 day of the game. This was linear with the level of blood CK-MM in both groups, with a higher level of CK-MM in NP. Nevertheless, there was insignificance between groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions. The findings indicate that non-professional athletes have lower strength and a higher trend of blood CK-MM level compared to professional athletes. However, the recovery of muscle strength and the changing pattern of CK-MM are similar between the two groups, which reveals that active people, such as non-professional athletes, have a good adaptation as athletes.