Effects of Mouthpiece Use on Lactate and Cortisol Levels During and After 30 Minutes of Treadmill Running

摘要

Background : Protective mouthpieces have been used in a variety of sports to decrease the risk of orofacial injury. There is limited data to suggest that mouthpiece use during exercise may also provide an ergogenic effect. Aim : To investigate the effects of mouthpiece use (the Edge, Bite Tech Corp) on physiological parameters. Methods : Twenty-four college-aged recreationally fit subjects ran for 30 minutes on 2 separate trials with a mouthpiece randomly assigned to each trial for all subjects. Lactate and cortisol levels were assessed before, during (lactate only) and after testing. Results : This study found that lactate levels were significantly lowered in the mouthpiece condition at 30 minutes of exercise (4.01 mmol/L MP versus 4.92 mmol/L no MP, P -value = 0.024). In 22 of the 24 subjects salivary cortisol samples were assessed with no significant difference between mouthpiece and no mouthpiece condition (0.151 ug/dL MP, 0.214 ug/dL No MP, P = 0.08). Conclusions : The outcomes of this study suggest that use of a mouthpiece may affect lactate post moderate intensity exercise in this population.