A comparison of relaxation therapies on salivary cortisol and its relation with sports performance
Shaji John Kachanathu, Satish Kumar Verma, Gulshan Lal Khanna
Abstract
Background: Different studies have been discussed about the pre-competition stress (PCS) based on Salivary Cortisol (SC) and its response to relaxation therapies such as of Music Therapy (MT) and Mindfulness Meditation Therapy (MMT) in sports performance separately, but little has been done on the comparison of MT, MMT and its Combination Therapy (CT) effects on SC in sports performance especially in shooters in a single study. Objective: The purpose of the current study was to estimate the contribution among MT, MMT and CT training on PCS by psychophysiological basis and its effect on sports performance of shooters. Methods: 153 professional male Shooters age of 29.5±4.3years were examined in three groups. MT, MMT, and as a CT, n= 50±3 in each group. Duration of the study was for 4 weeks. Pre and post data of quantitative phenotypic markers of HPA- Axis by SC and Performance Score (PS) were analyzed on baseline and 29th day. Results: All three experimental groups have shown positive correlation on post-intervention SC and PS, although CT group has shown highly significant (p<0.0001) result. Ultimately resulted in reduction of PCS level and increase in PS. When compared MT and MMT, MT shown marginal improvement than MMT group. Conclusions: Results of this study concluded that relaxation therapies such as MT and MMT interventions along with routine sports specific training may decrease PCS and will enhance sports performance and found CT is more effective than MT and MMT alone and also found MT has been shown better effectiveness than MMT in 4 weeks of training.