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.

Characteristics of motor performance, learning, warm-up decrement, and reminiscence during a balancing task.

Warm-up decrement and reminiscence effects have been primarily attributed to methods of distribution of practice. The present study investigated the effects of different amounts of practice on a balancing task and observed the differences in individual learning. Subjects were randomly assigned to a 5- or 10-trial practice group and performed a retention session on a stabilometer 1 wk. after the first set of trials. Subjects were given the same amount of rest between trials and sessions. Following the retention session subjects were assigned by retention performance into a warm-up decrement or reminiscence group for further comparison. The group with more practice had higher over-all performance. The warm-up decrement group showed more time-on-balance during the first practice session than the reminiscence group. The second session performance curves were nearly identical for the 5- and the 10-trial groups whether warm-up decrement or reminiscence occurred. These results suggested the importance of considering individual differences in retention of learning.

Bone density in eumenorrheic female college athletes.

Information is limited on the effect of exercise on bone density in young eumenorrheic athletes. We studied 12 Caucasian intercollegiate volleyball players (V), nine basketball players (B), ten swimmers (S), and 13 non-athletes (N) with bone density measurements by photon absorptiometry of their calcaneus and lumbar spine (L2-L4). The effect of athletic status on bone density was analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance, with height and weight as covariates. The bone densities reported below are mean +/- SE, adjusted for the covariates; units = g.cm-2, P less than 0.005. The swimmers had a significantly lower mean density in the lumbar spine than all other groups; the non-athletes' mean density was also lower than that of volleyball players (V = 1.31 +/- 0.03, B = 1.26 +/- 0.04, N = 1.18 +/- 0.03, S = 1.05 +/- 0.03). The volleyball and basketball players' mean calcaneal densities were greater than those of the swimmers and non-athletes (V = 0.530 +/- 0.017, B = 0.564 +/- 0.023, N = 0.438 +/- 0.018, S = 0.375 +/- 0.019). The higher bone densities for athletes in vertical weight-bearing activities are consistent with some but not all published data. The swimmers' low bone density in the lumbar spine, less than published values for amenorrheic runners, was unexpected.

Flexibility characteristics of elite female and male volleyball players.

It is a common assumption that increased range of motion is related to high level performance, however it is difficult to provide conclusive evidence for this assumption due to the many variables contributing to skilled performance. The purpose of this study was to compare shoulder and hip flexibility to jumping height of members of the men's and women's United States Olympic Festival volleyball teams. Twenty-four men and 22 women were measured for standing vertical jump (SVJ) and approach vertical jump (AVJ), as well as range of shoulder extension (SHO) and hip flexion (HIP). A significant and positive correlation was revealed between AVJ and HIP for the men r = 0.42, p less than 0.03). For the women, significant and negative correlations resulted between SVJ and HIP (r = -0.54, p = 0.009) and between AVJ and HIP (r = -0.47, p = 0.03). Although a positive correlation between flexibility and AVJ observed for the men supported the assumption that greater flexibility is related to greater skilled performance, the opposite results occurred for the women. The negative correlations for the women indicate that the players with the greatest vertical jumps had the least hip flexibility. It was concluded that greater hip flexibility may benefit men more than women for jumping ability.

Iron deficiency in female athletes: its prevalence and impact on performance.

The prevalence of iron deficiency and its impact on performance have not been adequately investigated in non-endurance athletes. This study evaluated these factors in 100 female intercollegiate athletes in various sports, and in 66 non-athletes. All subjects had determinations of hemoglobin, ferritin, and transferrin saturation. Athletes reported on diet, menses, and symptoms. Athletes and coaches described mood and performance. Iron-deficient athletes were treated with iron; others received placebo. The same data were collected at season's end. Initially 31/100 (31%) athletes had iron deficiency (ferritin less than 12 ng.ml-1; transferrin saturation less than 16%, or both) compared to 30/66 (45.5%) controls (not statistically significant). Compared to normal athletes, iron-deficient athletes did not have more symptoms of iron deficiency or differences in mood state, but they considered their performance to be worse (P less than 0.05). Their total iron intakes were similar, as were menstrual blood losses. At re-evaluation, 7/45 (15.6%) initially normal athletes were iron-deficient; 14/22 (63.6%) initially iron-deficient athletes were normal. Athletes receiving an iron supplement and their coaches did not report a greater improvement in performance or mood than athletes receiving a placebo. Female college athletes frequently had iron deficiency that could be successfully treated during the season, while some untreated normal athletes became iron-deficient. Iron deficiency and its treatment had no significant impact on symptoms or mood, but affected subjective assessment of performance.