Pre-Game and Post-Game Hydration Status of Young Basketball Players

Previous investigations indicated that continued exercise, especially in hot environments, can cause huge changes in hydration parameters. Some research suggested that approximately 50% of individuals and team athletes are hypohydrated. Most of these studies have been conducted during training sessions, but rarely during official competitions. PURPOSE: To determine pre-game and post-game hydration status, fluid intake and sweat loss of young elite basketball players during the FIBA Europe U20 Championship. METHODS: The study included analyses of 96 male basketball players (19 ± 0.79 years) before and after the game. Temperature at sport halls was 30 ± 2°C, humidity was 55 ± 4% and mean playing time in game was 18.8 ± 10.5 min. The following parameters related to hydration of basketball players were measured: fluid intake (FI), urine output, sweat rate, percent of dehydration, urine parameters (specific gravity (USG), color (UC)). RESULTS: Pre-game values of USG 1024 ± 0.6 and UC 5.67 ± 1.12 showed that, 80% and 95% of all players were hypohydrated before the game respectively. After the game, dehydration increased further in 85% of players based on increased USG (1026 ± 6) and in 95% of players due to UC (5.97 ± 1.37). There is a statistical significant pre-post differences in USG. Mean fluid intake during the game was 1.79 ± 0.8 L/h, sweat rate 2.7 ± 0.9 L/h, urine output 55 ± 61 mL and the percentage of dehydration was 0.99 ± 0.7%. The difference in body mass (0.9 ± 0.7 kg) before and after the game was statistically significant (p<0.01). We found statistically significant positive correlation between sweat rate and: USG (p<0.05), body mass loss (p<0.01), FI (p<0.01), and percentage of dehydration (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that players had poor pregame hydration status and that it was not compensated with on-court fluids intake. Therefore, all of them continued to be dehydrated after the game. It is very important that athletes on the very start of the training or game are well hydrated and to continue with proper hydration on court. These results suggest that hydration strategies must be carefully taken into account, not only by players, but also by coaches and team doctor.