Sport Activity Load and Skeletomuscular Robustness in Elite Youth Athletes

Irina Kalabiska, Annamaria Zsakai, Dorina Annar, Robert M. Malina and Tamas Szabo
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Irina Kalabiska: Center for Sport Physiology, University of Physical Education, Research, Alkotas u. 44, 1123 Budapest, Hungary
Annamaria Zsakai: Department of Biological Anthropology, Eotvos Lorand University, Pazmany p. s. 1/c., 1117 Budapest, Hungary
Dorina Annar: Department of Biological Anthropology, Eotvos Lorand University, Pazmany p. s. 1/c., 1117 Budapest, Hungary
Robert M. Malina: Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Tamas Szabo: Center for Sport Physiology, University of Physical Education, Research, Alkotas u. 44, 1123 Budapest, Hungary

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: In an earlier report, bone mineral reference values for young athletes were developed. This study addressed variations in bone mineral parameters of young athletes participating in sports with different mechanical loads. The bone mineral status of 1793 male and female athletes, 11 to 20 years of age, in several sports was measured with DEXA. Specific bone mineral parameters were converted to z-scores relative to age- and sex-specific reference values specified by the DEXA software. Z-score profiles and principal components analyses were used to identify body structural components in the young athletes and to evaluate the associations between the identified component and type of sport defined by mechanical load. A unique skeletomuscular robusticity of male wrestlers, pentathletes, and cyclists was noted: wrestlers had significantly more developed skeletomuscular robusticity and bone mineral density compared to the age-group average among elite athletes, while pentathletes and cyclists had lower bone mineral parameters than the age-group references among elite athletes. Among female athletes, bone mineral parameters of both the trunk and extremities of rhythmic gymnasts and pentathletes were significantly lower compared to the age-group means for elite athletes. The bone mineral development of elite young athletes varies with the impact forces associated with their respective sports. The skeletal development of cyclists, pentathletes, and rhythmic gymnasts should be monitored regularly as their bone development lags behind that of their athlete peers and the reference for the general population.

Keywords: bone mineral; skeletomuscular robusticity; elite athletes; DEXA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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