Strength exercise with and without self-adapted mouthguard: an acute study

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate acute variation in sub-maximal strength exercises (bench press, lat machine, overhead press, curl bar, push down, squat) with and without the use of commercial mouthguards in a group of weightlifting athletes. METHODS: Ten male weightlifting athletes were studied: age 26±5 years, weight 80±11 kg and height 180±1 cm. The subjects had never used a mouthguard. In this study, the commercially available self-adapting mouthguard (Kipsta, France) was used. To avoid the sequence of tests with and without the MG modifying the strength results, the athletes were divided into two groups of five. The exercises were divided into two days and repeated twice in one week: on the first day, the first group performed the first half of the exercises without the MG, and on the second day the other half with the MG. The second group did the opposite. The percentage difference was calculated as follows: ((SNMG - SMG) / SNMG) * 100 where SNMG = strength without the MG and SMG = strength with the MG. RESULTS The observed differences (in the range 1-4%) were found not statistically significant (Wilcoxon test) in the performed exercises. However, combining all the data of six exercises, the SNMG was greater than SMG (+2%, p <0.001). In 40% of cases (24 out of 60), SNMG was greater than SMG (+7%); in 8% of cases (8 out of 60), SNMG was less than SMG (-6%), and in 52% of cases (31 out of 60), there were no changes with the use of the mouthguard. DISCUSSION / CONCLUSIONS The study highlights how the acute use of commercial self-adapted mouthguard causes no significant difference in strength performance measured by means of dynamic exercises for both the upper and lower body.