Comparative study of muscle strength and muscle endurance in sportswomen

Background: Regular exercise helps us to build up the muscular fitness, that is, muscle strength and muscular endurance. The final common determinant of success in athletic event is what muscle can do for the athlete. Various research studies have been conducted exclusively in sportsmen; however, very few research studies are available in sportswomen, especially in India. With this background, the present study was conducted in sports women who are swimmers and runners. Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess and compare handgrip strength (HGS) and handgrip endurance (HGE) in control group, runners, and swimmers. Materials and Methods: Thirty runners, 30 swimmers, and height-weight matched 30 healthy female subjects of same age group were studied. HGS and HGE were measured using handgrip dynamometer. Parameters were compared among three groups using Analysis of Variance and post hoc Bonferroni’s test. Results: HGS was highly significant in sportswomen than in controls (P<0.001). HGS was significantly higher in swimmers than in runners (P<0.05). HGE was highly significant in swimmers than in controls and runners (P<0.05). Conclusion: Muscles of the upper extremity were conditioned more in swimmers than runners. However, overall muscular fitness was better in sports women than control group, because of regular exercise and training in sports women. Our study strongly recommends regular physical exercise for the control group females, to improve their muscular fitness which will help them to lead a better quality of life.