Sunday, April 3, 2011

Don't Run After Marathons- Consider Yourself Injured

I had some blood work done 48 hours after the Seoul Marathon 2 weeks ago to evaluate the follow enzymes levels, which when elevated indicate muscle tissue damage.

enzyme.........value...........normal

CK..............1471...............(21-232)

AST...............158..............(16-51)

LDH...............836...........(299-603)

CK-MB..............46.............(0-15)

According to the lab report, "the MB function is relatively specific to cardiac muscle. CK-MB progressively rises to peak values approximately 18 hours after myocardial infarct."

The lab performing the test must have been spooked since they repeated the test before calling the doctor!

These values are normal following a marathon. I found one old study that measured CK in several runners before and after running the Boston Marathon in 1979. They found CK values averaged 4,433 in runners who ran under 3:30, and 1,432 in runners who ran over 3:30 (these were taken 24 hours after the race, my blood was drawn 48 hours post). Creatine kinase elevations in marathon runners: relationship to training and competition.

So unless you are one of those who have a running streak going, what would be the point? Take some time off to heal up! I took about a week.

I would like to see these values in some of those Marathon Manics who run up to a marathon a week, and sometimes 2. They have amazing recuperative powers!

2 comments:

  1. I'd never considered blood work after a marathon. It must have been quite a shock. Are there things that you can do to help bring things back in line quicker than resting alone would do?

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  2. No this was not a shock- I'd done it once before- I think after Boston once my CK was much higher (from the downhills). I don't know if you can speed recovery or not- ice baths, refueling, light massage, anti-inflammatories etc are suggested by some but I haven't seen any studies.

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