Abstract
Protective mouthpieces have been used in a variety of sports to decrease the risk of orofacial injury. However, there is limited research on the physiological effects of mouthpiece use during exercise. PURPOSE: To investigate the possible effect on lactate and cortisol levels when wearing and not wearing a mouthpiece, the wEdge (Bite-Tech Corp). METHODS: Subjects (n=24), age 18-24, ran at 75 -85% of their maximal heart rate for 30 minutes on 2 separate trials, being randomly assigned the use of the mouthpiece on 1 of the 2 trials. Lactate levels were assessed before, 15 and 30 minutes during, and post 10 minutes exercise. Subjects provided a passive drool sample before and after each exercise bout to assess salivary cortisol levels. RESULTS: Lactate data indicated a significant difference between wearing and not wearing the mouthpiece at 30 minutes exercise (p-value = 0.024). Mean lactate levels at 30 minutes with the mouthpiece was 4.01 mmol/L versus 4.92 mmol/L without the mouthpiece. Mean cortisol levels showed no significant difference between wearing and not wearing the mouthpiece (p-value= 0.111). However, there was a trend towards lower mean cortisol levels with use of the mouthpiece (0.1484 ug/dL) versus no mouthpiece (0.2201 ug/dL). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that use of a mouthpiece may reduce lactate and cortisol increases and thereby improve exercise performance.
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