Does field hockey increase morphofunctional asymmetry? A pilot study

Common practice in field hockey requires athletes to adopt a semi-crouched posture, so players have a greater risk of musculoskeletal disorders than non-athletes. The aim of the present study was to assess how field hockey determines asymmetry in morphological and functional characteristics of the body by comparing athletes to control participants. The sample consisted of 15 male field hockey players from the Polish Youth National Team and 14 male university students. Antimeric differences in the chosen variables between body sub-regions were assessed. All morphological characteristics (bone mineral density, fat mass, and lean mass) were estimated using a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Additionally, the range of motion in transverse and frontal planes of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine was measured by using an electrogoniometric system. The results showed that the values of all morphological characteristics were higher in the left body segments, both in athletes and controls. However, the differences between sides were much more pronounced in the field hockey players. With regard to functional traits, higher values were obtained for the right body side in athletes but for the left side of the body among the controls. The difference between right and left side bending increased from the cervical spine (2.7%) through thoracic spine (7.8%) to lumbar spine (16.5%) in athletes. Rotational asymmetry in the thoracic spine was the largest in both groups. These findings indicate that it is important to monitor all athletes to prevent injury and health problems connected with strong morphological asymmetry.