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High-performance and elite sports

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Point-of-Care Testing

Abstract

For many years, POCT devices have been employed alongside central laboratory methods to analyze biomarkers in high-performance and elite sports. However, there has been a paucity of publications to date on studies in high-performance and elite athletes where POCT is explicitly mentioned as measuring methodology. For this reason, the present chapter aims to provide an overview of the different areas such studies have focused on. The advantage of POCT methods in high-performance and elite sports is that the tests can be performed on capillary blood samples using transportable devices without specialized medical and laboratory personnel. In essentially every athletic setting, POCT can be employed for measuring biomarkers in athletes to document their health and performance status, to optimize their training routines, to promote endurance and regeneration, while helping prevent overexertion.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Institut für Trainingswissenschaft und ­Sportinformatik, Am Sportpark 6, 50933, Köln, Germany

    Dr. Silvia Achtzehn & Prof. Dr. Joachim Mester

  2. Heidelberg, Germany

    Holger Broich

Authors
  1. Dr. Silvia Achtzehn
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  2. Holger Broich
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  3. Prof. Dr. Joachim Mester
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Klinikum rechts der Isar, München, Germany

    Peter B. Luppa

  2. Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany

    Ralf Junker

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Achtzehn, S., Broich, H., Mester, J. (2018). High-performance and elite sports. In: Luppa, P.B., Junker, R. (eds) Point-of-Care Testing. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54497-6_23

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