Habitual throwing and swimming correspond with upper limb diaphyseal strength and shape in modern human athletes

Shaw, Colin N.; Stock, Jay T.

doi:10.1002/ajpa.21063

Cited by 190 publications

(202 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…S2). These adaptation data exceed previous reports of upper extremity bilateral asymmetry induced by physical activity (12,13,20,22,(33)(34)(35), establishing new levels for the plastic potential within the skeleton. Similar magnitudes of bilateral asymmetry are not expected in studies of the lower extremity because of the heightened habitual bilateral loading associated with weight-bearing in both athletes and controls.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 89%

Physical activity when young provides lifelong benefits to cortical bone size and strength in men

Warden

Roosa

Kersh

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

205

157

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The skeleton shows greatest plasticity to physical activity-related mechanical loads during youth but is more at risk for failure during aging. Do the skeletal benefits of physical activity during youth persist with aging? To address this question, we used a uniquely controlled cross-sectional study design in which we compared the throwing-to-nonthrowing arm differences in humeral diaphysis bone properties in professional baseball players at different stages of their careers (n = 103) with dominant-to-nondominant arm differences in controls (n = 94). Throwing-related physical activity introduced extreme loading to the humeral diaphysis and nearly doubled its strength. Once throwing activities ceased, the cortical bone mass, area, and thickness benefits of physical activity during youth were gradually lost because of greater medullary expansion and cortical trabecularization. However, half of the bone size (total cross-sectional area) and one-third of the bone strength (polar moment of inertia) benefits of throwing-related physical activity during youth were maintained lifelong. In players who continued throwing during aging, some cortical bone mass and more strength benefits of the physical activity during youth were maintained as a result of less medullary expansion and cortical trabecularization. These data indicate that the old adage of "use it or lose it" is not entirely applicable to the skeleton and that physical activity during youth should be encouraged for lifelong bone health, with the focus being optimization of bone size and strength rather than the current paradigm of increasing mass. The data also indicate that physical activity should be encouraged during aging to reduce skeletal structural decay.exercise | intracortical remodeling | osteoporosis | peak bone mass

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 89%

Physical activity when young provides lifelong benefits to cortical bone size and strength in men

Warden

Roosa

Kersh

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

205

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…However a recent examination on habitual throwing and swimming upon diaphyseal strength of upper limbs in cricketers and swimmers revealed that greater mechanical loads placed upon upper limbs, whether unilaterally or bilaterally, resulted in greater strength compared to less mechanical load (non-dominant limb or controls) (Shaw & Stock, 2009). This finding demonstrates how repetitive activity or sport may lead to asymmetries within the body, however, whether this finding translates to the lower limbs is unknown.…”

Section: Geometric/anthropometricmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Fatigue on Bilateral Ground Reaction Force Asymmetries during the Squat Exercise

Hodges

Patrick

Reiser

2011

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

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OF THESIS EFFECTS OF FATIGUE ON BILATERAL GROUND REACTION FORCE ASYMMETRIES DURING THE SQUAT EXERCISEPhysical performance and risk for injury have been related to functional asymmetries of the lower extremity. The squat exercise is an important, functional movement serving as the major multi-joint, closed-chain lower extremity exercise in many strength and conditioning programs, as well as a large component in rehabilitation.Examinations of asymmetries during the squat exercise have revealed bilateral differences in the net joint torques, indicating unequal actions between the lower extremities. To date, no study has examined how fatigue affects these asymmetries. PURPOSE:The goal of this investigation was to examine functional bilateral asymmetries of the lower extremities during the squat exercise, exploring how they may change during the course of an individual set, as well as across multiple sets with fatigue.Based on a review of literature related to the effects of fatigue on functional asymmetries, it was hypothesized that asymmetries would increase with fatigue. METHODS:Seventeen recreationally trained men (n=9) and women (n=8) (mean ± SD age: 22.3 ± 2.5 yrs; height 170 ± 9.3 cm; mass 73.4 ± 13.8 kg) performed five sets of eight repetitions with 90% of their predetermined eight-repetition maximum (8RM 113 ± 35 % of their body mass). Anthropometric measurements and vertical ground reaction force (GRFv) data were collected. GRFv asymmetries were calculated by subtracting the % load on the iv right foot from that of the left foot. Initially highly symmetric subjects (± 1.7%) were removed from the analyses. The first two (R1&2) and last two (R7&8) repetitions of each set were examined. Eight subjects were reassessed for repeatability measures. RESULTS:R7&8 took longer to complete than R1&2 within a single set (p<0.001), however this finding was not observed across sets (p=0.867). The average asymmetry level across all sets for the absolute average was 4.3 ± 2.5% and 3.6 ± 2.3% for R1&2 and R7&8, respectively. There was no difference in whole group analysis (n=17) for any of the GRFv asymmetry analyses. Initially symmetric subjects were removed for the following analyses. For absolute peak instantaneous forces, the average asymmetry level across all sets was 3.8 ± 2.3% and 3.2 ± 2.3% for R1&2 and R7&8, respectively. Within a set, based on absolute asymmetry, levels of asymmetry dropped from beginning to end of a set (p=0.044). Exploring general shifts towards the left or right leg revealed a significant difference in peak instantaneous asymmetry with subjects becoming more symmetric with fatigue during the course of a single set (p=0.042). Of those who placed more weight on their right side at the beginning of a set, based on average asymmetry, a significant movement towards symmetry was seen for repetitions within a single set (p=0.036). Anthropometrics (segment lengths and circumferences) were generally not highly correlated to the asymmetries. Anthropometric measures were highly repeatable (Cronbac...

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“…For example, tennis and baseball players, in addition to cricketers, exhibit bilateral asymmetry in some indices of forelimb robusticity (Jones et al 1977;Shaw and Stock 2009;Warden et al 2009), and rowers have more robust humeri than nonrowers (Weiss 2003). Such associations have allowed researchers to infer habitual use of watercraft among populations who exploit aquatic resources (Stock and Pfeiffer 2001) or habitual digging with sticks by Late Stone Age foragers (Stock and Pfeiffer 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenotypic Plasticity of Climbing-Related Traits in the Ankle Joint of Great Apes and Rainforest Hunter-Gatherers

et al. 2013

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Phenotypic Plasticity of Climbing-Related Traits in the Ankle Joint of Great Apes and Rainforest Hunter-Gatherers AbstractThe "negrito" and African "pygmy" phenotypes are predominately exhibited by hunter-gatherers living in rainforest habitats. Foraging within such habitats is associated with a unique set of locomotor behaviors, most notably habitual vertical climbing during the pursuit of honey, fruit, and game. When performed frequently, this behavior is expected to correlate with developmentally plastic skeletal morphologies that respond to mechanical loading. Using six measurements in the distal tibia and talus that discriminate nonhuman primates by vertical climbing frequency, we tested the prediction that intraspecific variation in this behavior is reflected in the morphology of the ankle joint of habitually climbing human populations. First, to explore the plasticity of climbing-linked morphologies, we made comparisons between chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans from wild and captive settings. The analysis revealed significant differences in two climbing-linked traits (anterior expansion of the articular surface of the distal tibia and increased degree of talar wedging), indicating that these traits are sensitive to climbing behavior. However, our analyses did not reveal any signatures of climbing behavior in the ankles of habitually climbing hunter-gatherers. These results suggest that the detection of finegrained differences in human locomotor behaviors at the ankle joint, particularly those associated with arboreality, may be obscured by the functional demands of terrestrial bipedalism. Accordingly, it may be difficult to use population-level characteristics of ankle morphology to make inferences about the climbing behavior of hominins in the fossil record, even when facultative arborealism is associated with key fitness benefits. Abstract The "negrito" and African "pygmy" phenotypes are predominately exhibited by hunter-gatherers living in rainforest habitats. Foraging within such habitats is associated with a unique set of locomotor behaviors, most notably habitual vertical climbing during the pursuit of honey, fruit, and game. When performed frequently, this behavior is expected to correlate with developmentally plastic skeletal morphologies that respond to mechanical loading. Using six measurements in the distal tibia and talus that discriminate nonhuman primates by vertical climbing frequency, we tested the prediction that intraspecific variation in this behavior is reflected in the morphology of the ankle joint of habitually climbing human populations. First, to explore the plasticity of climbing-linked morphologies, we made comparisons between chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans from wild and captive settings. The analysis revealed significant differences in two climbing-linked traits (anterior expansion of the articular surface of the distal tibia and increased degree of talar wedging), indicating that these traits are sensitive to climbing behavior. However, our analyses did not reveal an...

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Habitual throwing and swimming correspond with upper limb diaphyseal strength and shape in modern human athletes

Cited by 190 publications

References 63 publications

Physical activity when young provides lifelong benefits to cortical bone size and strength in men

Physical activity when young provides lifelong benefits to cortical bone size and strength in men

Effects of Fatigue on Bilateral Ground Reaction Force Asymmetries during the Squat Exercise

Phenotypic Plasticity of Climbing-Related Traits in the Ankle Joint of Great Apes and Rainforest Hunter-Gatherers

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