The Effects of Recovery Period on Muscle Pain Perception Rate Time after Sub-Maximal Exercise

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Recovery period on the rate of exertion perception (RPE) time after sub-maximal exercise in non-elite young female swimmers. In this study 18 female swimmers aged 16.05±1.43 years, with 2.38±0.5 years swimming experience were selected through simple non-probability sampling. They participated in a selected sub-maximal weight power exercise (80-90% of maximal heart rate) and completed perceived muscle pain scale (PMPS) immediately, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours after the exercise. The result of this study showed that the passage of time causes significant changes in RPE. That is, RPE increased until 24 hours after exercise and then went down. Maximal RPE was observed 24 and 48 hours after exercise, respectively. Findings showed that non-elite young female swimmers with low BMI (23> kg/m2) experienced more muscle pain. Further analysis on the relationship between BMI and RPE reveals that RPE is negatively correlated with BMI except 48 hours after the exercise. We concluded that BMI in non-elite young female swimmers could potentially predict muscle pain response in this population.