Oral but Not Topical Sodium Bicarbonate Improves Repeated Sprint Performance During Simulated Soccer Match Play Exercise in Collegiate Athletes.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Double-blind, block randomized crossover trial in humans
PubMed 39222921 · doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2024-0059
What was done
Ten collegiate male soccer players participated in a block randomized, double-blind, crossover trial completing a 90-minute simulated soccer field test (SAFT90) under three conditions: oral sodium bicarbonate (0.3 g/kg body mass in capsules; SB-ORAL), topical sodium bicarbonate (0.9036 g/kg body mass PR Lotion; SB-LOTION), or matched placebo capsules and lotion (PLA). Soccer-specific performance tests (countermovement jumps, Illinois agility, 8 × 25 m repeated sprints) and blood acid-base and electrolyte variables (pH, HCO3-, Na+, K+) were measured before, at half-time, and after the SAFT90 protocol.
What was found
SB-ORAL resulted in significantly faster average sprint times compared to PLA during half-time (3.7% quicker; p = .049; g = .57) and post-SAFT90 (4.9% quicker; p = .041; g = .66). SB-ORAL increased blood pH and HCO3- pre-warmup and at half-time (p < .05) and lowered K+ at half-time (p = .035) versus PLA. SB-LOTION increased pH (p = .019) and lowered K+ (p = .012) at half-time, and increased Na+ post-exercise (p = .008) compared with PLA, but showed no sprint performance improvements. Numerical results for jump and agility tests were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
This study demonstrates that oral sodium bicarbonate enhances repeated sprint capacity during soccer-specific exercise via increased blood buffering capacity, whereas topical application does not elicit ergogenic benefits despite minor blood chemistry changes.
Limits
The sample size was very small (n = 10) and limited to male collegiate players, restricting generalizability to females and elite cohorts. Results for countermovement jumps and agility tests were omitted from the abstract, gastrointestinal symptoms were not reported, and simulated match play cannot fully replicate competitive match conditions.
Cited by
- contradicts Sodium bicarbonate topical creams applied 30 to 60 minutes before exercise acutely improve high-intensity performance without causing GI distress.