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Do sporting activities convey benefits to bone mass throughout the skeleton?
Alan Nevill1, Roger Holder, Arthur Stewart
1School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus Gorway Road, Walsall WS1 3BD, UK. a.m.nevill@wlv.ac.uk
Journal of Sports Sciences
|September 17, 2004
Summary
High-impact sports significantly boost bone mineral density (BMD) throughout the skeleton, not just at loaded sites. Activities like rugby and strength training show widespread BMD benefits, unlike low-impact exercises.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Orthopedics
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Bone mineral density (BMD) is crucial for skeletal health and is known to increase with physical activity.
- While site-specific benefits of exercise on BMD are recognized, the systemic effects across the entire skeleton are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the BMD of male athletes across nine different sports with that of non-exercising controls.
- To investigate whether exercise-induced BMD benefits are limited to loaded sites or extend to unloaded skeletal regions.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 106 male athletes from nine sports and 15 age-matched male non-exercising controls.
- Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured at nine skeletal sites.
- Multivariate and univariate analyses of covariance were used, adjusting for body mass and age.
Main Results:
- Athletes in high-impact, contact, or rotational sports (rugby, strength training, triathlons, racket sports) demonstrated significantly greater BMD than controls at multiple sites, including unloaded areas.
- Rugby players exhibited the highest overall BMD, with significant increases at all nine sites compared to controls.
- Low-impact activities (keep-fit, cycling, rowing) did not show significant BMD benefits over controls.
Conclusions:
- Sporting activities involving high impact, physical contact, or rotational forces promote BMD increases not only at the directly loaded sites but also at distant peripheral and axial skeletal locations.
- The findings suggest a systemic response to certain types of exercise, highlighting the potential for widespread skeletal benefits beyond site-specific adaptations.