Variations in bone status of contralateral and regional sites in young athletic women

To determine if volleyball (VB), basketball (BB), soccer (SO) and swimming (SW) programs were associated with site-specific differences in contralateral, regional, and total body bone mineral density (BMD), 62 eumenorrheic female athletes [BB (N = 7), VB (N = 11), SO (N = 9), and SW (N = 7)] and controls participated in the study. The controls were categorized as either moderately active control (MOD) (N = 17) or sedentary control (SED) (N = 11) based on fitness and activity assessments. Contralateral, total body, lumbar (L2-L4), and femur BMD were measured (Lunar DPX). The between sport contralateral comparisons indicated that VB and BB had significantly greater leg and arm measurements than all other groups, while the within contralateral comparisons revealed significantly greater right arm measurements for all groups, except SW. No significant differences were found for the within group contralateral leg comparisons, except VB. VB and BB had significantly higher (P < or = 0.05) total body and lumbar BMD values than SW, MOD, and SED. At the femur neck, trochanter, and Ward's triangle, BB showed significantly higher BMD than SW, MOD, and SED. Only BB had significantly higher Ward's triangle BMD than SW, MOD, and SED. Our findings show site-specific differences in BMD associated with selected sports' programs.