Relation between muscle injury incidance and MLCK gene

Department :Physical Education and Sport Sciences Objective: Aim of the study was to evaluate if there is a genetic between incidance of muscle and tendon injuries and one MLCK gene polimorphisms. Materials and methods: 97 athletes (30 women, 67 men; 18 to 65 y.o.) participated to the study voluntarily. Athlethic experiences of our cohort was between two years and more. MLCK gene polimorphisms were analyzed from blood samples of participants. Participants were subjected to a questionary which focused on incidence of injury per a year and for their throughout athlethic carriers. Findings: In the present study, for the power athletes group of C37885A gene region, the frequency of muscle injury frequencies were lower for athletes with CC genotype of MLCK gene. However, athlethes which having AA or TT genotypes were exposed to higher as compared to CC genotyped athletes. Participants with AA genotype experienced highest injury frequencies than the others. Conclusion: It may be said that athletes with CC allele are more advantageous with regard to muscle injury frequencies. However, participants having AA genotypes seems to have a high risk of muscular injuries during athletic trainings or competehigh more disadvantageous. This information, coaches can develop strategies to prevent sports injuries by looking at the genetic characteristics of their athletes. Keywords: MLCK gene, endurance, power, muscular injury incidence, sports