Monitoring of serum enzymes in sport

Abstract

Functional assessment of athletes’ fitness includes a variety of variables. Serum creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) give an indication of the degree of metabolic adaptation to physical training of skeletal muscles. Both enzymes are involved in muscle metabolism, and their serum concentration is normally very low, a result of physiological wear and tear of the cell. They increase considerably after intensive exercise and in muscle pathology.^1,2