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Mechanical loading with or without weight-bearing activity: influence on bone strength index in elite female adolescent athletes engaged in water polo, gymnastics, and track-and-field

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Abstract

Bone health is considered not to benefit from water-based sports because of their weight-supported nature, but available evidence primarily relies on DXA technology. Our purpose was to investigate musculoskeletal health in the upper and lower body in well-trained adolescent female athletes using pQCT and compare these athletes with less-active, age- and sex-matched peers. Bone mineral content, volumetric cortical and trabecular BMD, total and cortical area, and bone strength index were assessed at the distal and proximal tibia and radius in four groups of adolescent females (mean age, 14.9 years) including water polo players (n = 30), gymnasts (n = 25), track-and-field athletes (n = 34), and nonactive controls (n = 28). Water polo players did not show any benefit in bone strength index or muscle size in the lower leg when compared with controls. In contrast, gymnasts showed 60.1 % and 53.4 % greater bone strength index at the distal and proximal tibia, respectively, than nonactive females (p < 0.05). Similarly, track-and-field athletes displayed 33.9 % and 14.7 % greater bone strength index at the distal and proximal tibia, respectively, compared with controls (p < 0.05). In the upper body, water polo players had 31.9 % greater bone strength index at the distal radius, but not the radial shaft, and 15.2 % larger forearm muscle cross-sectional area than controls (p < 0.05). The greatest musculoskeletal benefits in the upper body were found in gymnasts. In conclusion, despite training at an elite level, female water polo players did not show any benefits in musculoskeletal health in the lower leg and only limited benefits in the upper body when compared with nonactive girls.

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Acknowledgments

This research was kindly supported by the Australian Research Council and industry partners including the New South Wales Sporting Injuries Committee, New South Wales Institute of Sport, Athletics Australia, Gymnastics Australia and Water Polo New South Wales. The authors wish to thank the athletic participants who volunteered for this project as well as control participants from Santa Sabina College, Strathfield, New South Wales.

Conflict of interest

No author has a financial relationship with the funding organization that supported the research, or with any other organization whose area of activity may be affected or perceived to be influenced by the results of the study. Authors have full control of all primary data and agree to allow the journal to review our data if requested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Physical Activity Across the Lifespan (CoPAAL), School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Locked Bag 2002, Strathfield, NSW, 2763, Australia

    David A. Greene, Geraldine A. Naughton, Elizabeth Bradshaw & Gaele Ducher

  2. New South Wales Institute of Sport, Sydney, Australia

    Mark Moresi

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  1. David A. Greene
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  2. Geraldine A. Naughton
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Correspondence to David A. Greene.

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Greene, D.A., Naughton, G.A., Bradshaw, E. et al. Mechanical loading with or without weight-bearing activity: influence on bone strength index in elite female adolescent athletes engaged in water polo, gymnastics, and track-and-field. J Bone Miner Metab 30, 580–587 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-012-0360-6

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