Characterising lower-body musculoskeletal morphology and whole-body composition of elite female and male Australian Football players

Abstract

Background Physical demands and injury rates differ between elite female and male Australian Football (AF) players. To improve understanding of contributing physical factors to these differences, the purpose of this study was to investigate lower-body morphology and whole-body composition of elite footballers competing in the Australian Football League (AFL) and Australian Football League Women’s (AFLW). Methods Lower-body morphology and whole-body composition of 23 AFL players and 23 AFLW players were assessed using peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography and Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry at the beginning of pre-season. Differences between cohorts, with sub-analyses of kicking vs. support limbs, and experienced vs. inexperienced player status were assessed using two-sample independent t-tests. Magnitude of differences were assessed using Cohen’s d effect sizes. Results AFL players had greater absolute (p < 0.001; ES = 3.28) and relative (p < 0.001; ES = 2.29) whole body lean soft-tissue mass, with less absolute (p = 0.004; ES = 0.91) and relative (p < 0.001; ES = 2.29) fat mass than AFLW players. For AFLW players, no significant differences existed between kicking and support limbs with few differences observed between experienced and inexperienced players. Conclusions Greater emphasis on physical development in AFLW players may be required to enable increases in muscle mass and skeletal robustness, to ensure they can tolerate the loads of elite competition.

The Benefits to Bone Health in Children and Pre-School Children with Additional Exercise Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…No significant improvements were observed in trabecular vBMD, CSA, cortical area, cortical thickness or SSIPOL with additional exercise interventions. This was a relatively unexpected finding as longitudinal exercise has resulted in favourable hard-tissue improvements in adult athletes previously [ 56 , 58 ]. Specifically, elite male athletes exhibit superior hard-tissue characteristics in their support leg versus their kicking leg, which is likely due to the different loading patterns between limbs [ 56 ].…”

“…This was a relatively unexpected finding as longitudinal exercise has resulted in favourable hard-tissue improvements in adult athletes previously [ 56 , 58 ]. Specifically, elite male athletes exhibit superior hard-tissue characteristics in their support leg versus their kicking leg, which is likely due to the different loading patterns between limbs [ 56 ]. The support limb typically experiences more frequent impacts as it acts as the stabilising leg during kicking actions and is typically the dominant single-leg jumping and landing leg [ 58 ].…”

“…No significant improvements were observed in tibial vBMD at any level with additional exercise interventions. However, vBMD may not be an overly specific measure and has been shown to be unable to differentiate between female and male Australian Football players [ 56 ]. Despite significant differences between Australian Football Men’s and Women’s players according to other musculoskeletal morphological characteristics (e.g., bone mass, cross-sectional area and robustness), vBMD (measured via pQCT) was unable to differentiate between cohorts.…”

Correction: Characterising lower-body musculoskeletal morphology and whole-body composition of elite female and male Australian Football players

“…Correction: Characterising lower-body musculoskeletal morphology and whole-body composition of elite female and male Australian Football players Callum J. McCaskie 1,2* , Marc Sim 1,3 , Robert U. Newton 1,4,5 , Jarryd Heasman 2 , Brent Rogalski 2 and Nicolas H. Hart 1,4,6,7,8…”