Bone Mass in Prepubertal Tennis Players

Abstract

To assess if exercise before puberty affects bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) we determined BMC and BMD in the dominant arm (DA) and non-dominant arm (NDA), lumbar spine and femoral neck in 25 tennis players (TP), 21 soccer players (SP) and 22 physically active controls (CG). All of them were under 12 years of age and prepubertal. In TP the DA was heavier than the NDA (7.5±0.8%), due to a greater lean mass (10.2±1.2%) and BMC (16.3±2.2%). The increased BMC is due to a greater DA bone area (11.1±1.9%) and BMD (4.1±0.7%). BMC inter-arm asymmetry was 50–75% of that previously observed in professional TP. Inter-arm asymmetry in lean mass, BMC, BMD and bone area was significantly higher in TP than in SP and CG. Lumbar spine BMC and BMD were similar across groups. TP and CG had similar femoral neck BMDs, whilst SP had higher femoral neck BMD than TP. In conclusion, tennis participation before puberty is associated with increased lean mass and bone mass, due to an enhanced bone size and areal BMD in the playing arm.

Key words

growth - exercise - children - muscle mass - football - soccer

References

• 1 Ara I, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Jimenez-Ramirez J, Dorado C, Serrano-Sanchez JA, Calbet JA. Regular participation in sports is associated with enhanced physical fitness and lower fat mass in prepubertal boys.  Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004;  28 1585-1593
• 2 Ara I, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Perez-Gomez J, Jimenez-Ramirez J, Serrano-Sanchez JA, Dorado C, Calbet JA. Influence of extracurricular sport activities on body composition and physical fitness in boys: a 3-year longitudinal study.  Int J Obes (Lond). 2006;  30 1062-1071
• 3 Bass SL, Saxon L, Daly RM, Turner CH, Robling AG, Seeman E, Stuckey S. The effect of mechanical loading on the size and shape of bone in pre-, peri-, and postpubertal girls: a study in tennis players.  J Bone Miner Res. 2002;  17 2274-2280
• 4 Calbet JA, Diaz Herrera P, Rodriguez LP. High bone mineral density in male elite professional volleyball players.  Osteoporos Int. 1999;  10 468-474
• 5 Calbet JA, Dorado C, Diaz-Herrera P, Rodriguez-Rodriguez LP. High femoral bone mineral content and density in male football (soccer) players.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001;  33 1682-1687
• 6 Calbet JA, Moysi JS, Dorado C, Rodriguez LP. Bone mineral content and density in professional tennis players.  Calcif Tissue Int. 1998;  62 491-496
• 7 Ducher G, Tournaire N, Meddahi-Pelle A, Benhamou CL, Courteix D. Short-term and long-term site-specific effects of tennis playing on trabecular and cortical bone at the distal radius.  J Bone Miner Metab. 2006;  24 484-490
• 8 Duke PM, Litt IF, Gross RT. Adolescents' self-assessment of sexual maturation.  Pediatrics. 1980;  66 918-920
• 9 Forwood MR. Physical activity and bone development during childhood: insights from animal models.  J Appl Physiol. 2008;  105 334-341
• 10 Gjøvaag TF, Dahl HA. Effect of training with different mechanical loadings on MyHC and GLUT4 changes.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;  41 129-136
• 11 Guadalupe-Grau A, Fuentes T, Guerra B, Calbet JA. Exercise and bone mass in adults.  Sports Med. 2009;  39 439-468
• 12 Guadalupe-Grau A, Perez-Gomez J, Olmedillas H, Chavarren J, Dorado C, Santana A, Serrano-Sanchez JA, Calbet JA. Strength training combined with plyometric jumps in adults: sex differences in fat-bone axis adaptations.  J Appl Physiol. 2009;  106 1100-1111
• 13 Harriss DJ, Atkinson G. International Journal of Sports Medicine – Ethical Standards in Sport and Exercise Science Research.  Int J Sports Med. 2009;  30 701-702
• 14 Hather BM, Tesch PA, Buchanan P, Dudley GA. Influence of eccentric actions on skeletal muscle adaptations to resistance training.  Acta Physiol Scand. 1991;  143 177-185
• 15 Kannus P, Haapasalo H, Sankelo M, Sievanen H, Pasanen M, Heinonen A, Oja P, Vuori I. Effect of starting age of physical activity on bone mass in the dominant arm of tennis and squash players.  Ann Intern Med. 1995;  123 27-31
• 16 Leger LA, Mercier D, Gadoury C, Lambert J. The multistage 20 metre shuttle run test for aerobic fitness.  J Sports Sci. 1988;  6 93-101
• 17 MacKelvie KJ, Khan KM, Petit MA, Janssen PA, McKay HA. A school-based exercise intervention elicits substantial bone health benefits: a 2-year randomized controlled trial in girls.  Pediatrics. 2003;  112 e447
• 18 Mackelvie KJ, McKay HA, Khan KM, Crocker PR. A school-based exercise intervention augments bone mineral accrual in early pubertal girls.  J Pediatr. 2001;  139 501-508
• 19 MacKelvie KJ, McKay HA, Petit MA, Moran O, Khan KM. Bone mineral response to a 7-month randomized controlled, school-based jumping intervention in 121 prepubertal boys: associations with ethnicity and body mass index.  J Bone Miner Res. 2002;  17 834-844
• 20 McCambridge TM, Stricker PR. Strength training by children and adolescents.  Pediatrics. 2008;  121 835-840
• 21 Morris FL, Naughton GA, Gibbs JL, Carlson JS, Wark JD. Prospective ten-month exercise intervention in premenarcheal girls: positive effects on bone and lean mass.  J Bone Miner Res. 1997;  12 1453-1462
• 22 Perez-Gomez J, Olmedillas H, Delgado-Guerra S, Royo IA, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Ortiz RA, Chavarren J, Calbet JA. Effects of weight lifting training combined with plyometric exercises on physical fitness, body composition, and knee extension velocity during kicking in football.  Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2008;  33 501-510
• 23 Perez-Gomez J, Rodriguez GV, Ara I, Olmedillas H, Chavarren J, Gonzalez-Henriquez JJ, Dorado C, Calbet JA. Role of muscle mass on sprint performance: gender differences?.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 2008;  102 685-694
• 24 Ramsay JA, Blimkie CJ, Smith K, Garner S, MacDougall JD, Sale DG. Strength training effects in prepubescent boys.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1990;  22 605-614
• 25 Sanchis-Moysi J, Dorado C, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Milutinovic L, Garces GL, Calbet JA. Inter-arm asymmetry in bone mineral content and bone area in postmenopausal recreational tennis players.  Maturitas. 2004;  48 289-298
• 26 Sanchis-Moysi J, Idoate F, Olmedillas H, Guadalupe-Grau A, Alayon S, Carreras A, Dorado C, Calbet JA. The upper extremity of the professional tennis player: muscle volumes, fiber-type distribution and muscle strength.  Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2009; 
• 27 Seeman E. Periosteal bone formation – a neglected determinant of bone strength.  N Engl J Med. 2003;  349 320-323
• 28 Seeman E. Loading and bone fragility.  J Bone Miner Metab. 2005;  23 ((Suppl)) 23-29
• 29 Vicente-Rodriguez G, Ara I, Perez-Gomez J, Dorado C, Calbet JA. Muscular development and physical activity as major determinants of femoral bone mass acquisition during growth.  Br J Sports Med. 2005;  39 611-616
• 30 Vicente-Rodriguez G, Ara I, Perez-Gomez J, Serrano-Sanchez JA, Dorado C, Calbet JA. High femoral bone mineral density accretion in prepubertal soccer players.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004;  36 1789-1795
• 31 Vicente-Rodriguez G, Jimenez-Ramirez J, Ara I, Serrano-Sanchez JA, Dorado C, Calbet JA. Enhanced bone mass and physical fitness in prepubescent footballers.  Bone. 2003;  33 853-859

Correspondence