A Comparison between Resting Levels of Interleukin-6, Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha, and Some Portions in the Immune System of Athletes and Non-Athletes with Spinal Cord Injury

The purpose of the present study is to compare resting levels of Interleukin-6, Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha, and some portions in the immune system of athletes and non-athletes with spinal cord injury. Convenience sampling was used in this study and accordingly 10 non-athletes and 10 athletes from different fields were chosen. For testing the immune system, the number of white blood cells (lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils), and for testing inflammatory indexes, resting levels of Interleukin-6 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha in the blood serum sample were measured. For measurement of blood parameters, ELSA method and the special kit were used. Descriptive statistics was used for data explanation/description and inferential statistics was used to explore the research results. Independent t-test was applied for the comparison between the research variables related to two athletic and non-athletic groups. The results revealed that there is no significant difference between athletes and non-athletes in Interleukin-6 (p=0.859), Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (p=0.539), and the number of white blood cells (p=0.942). It seems that exercising is not considered as a threat for the immune system of those who have spinal cord injury although more research is needed to explore the effect of sport on the immune system of such patients.