Individualized Monitoring of Muscle Recovery in Elite Badminton

\(\bf Purpose:\) Individualized reference ranges for serum creatine kinase (CK) and urea are a promising tool for the assessment of recovery status in high-level endurance athletes. In this study, we investigated the application of this approach in racket sports, specifically for the monitoring of elite badminton players during the preparation for their world championships. \(\bf Methods:\) Seventeen elite badminton players were enrolled of which 15 could be included in the final analysis. Repeated measurements of CK and urea at recovered (R) and non-recovered (NR) time points were used for the stepwise individualization of group-based, prior reference ranges as well as for the evaluation o…