Short-term and long-term site-specific effects of tennis playing on trabecular and cortical bone at the distal radius

Abstract

Mechanical loading during growth magnifies the normal increase in bone diameter occurring in long bone shafts, but the response to loading in long bone ends remains unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of tennis playing during growth at the distal radius, comparing the bone response at trabecular and cortical skeletal sites. The influence of training duration was examined by studying bone response in short-term (children) and long-term (young adults) perspectives. Bone area, bone mineral content (BMC), and bone mineral density (BMD) of the radius were measured by DXA in 28 young (11.6 +/- 1.4 years old) and 47 adult tennis players (22.3 +/- 2.7 years old), and 70 age-matched controls (12 children, 58 adults) at three sites: the ultradistal region (trabecular), the mid-distal region, and the third-distal region (cortical). At the ultradistal radius, young and adult tennis players displayed similar side-to-side differences, the asymmetry in BMC reaching 16.3% and 13.8%, respectively (P < 0.0001). At the mid- and third-distal radius, the asymmetry was much greater in adults than in children (P < 0.0001) for all the bone parameters (mid-distal radius, +6.6% versus +15.6%; third-distal radius, +6.9% versus +13.3%, for BMC). Epiphyseal bone enduring longitudinal growth showed a great capacity to respond to mechanical loading in children. Prolonging tennis playing into adulthood was associated with further increase in bone mineralization at diaphyseal skeletal sites. These findings illustrate the benefits of practicing impact-loading sports during growth and maintaining physical activity into adulthood to enhance bone mass accrual and prevent fractures later in life.

Bone and lean mass inter-arm asymmetries in young male tennis players depend on training frequency

“…Our findings in tennis players with the lowest weekly dedication (TP2) concur with earlier studies (Bass et al 2002;Ducher et al 2006). For example, (Ducher et al 2006) using DXA found similar side-to-side differences for BMC at the epiphyseal side of the radius in prepubertal tennis players (22 boys and 6 girls analyzed conjointly) who played at least twice a week compared to adult recreational tennis players (16 and 13%, for children and adults, respectively).…”

“…Previous studies in our laboratory showed that professional tennis players who started tennis practice before puberty had 20% higher bone mineral content (BMC) and lean mass in the dominant compared to the non dominant arm and 10-15% greater bone mineral density (BMD) in lumbar and femoral subregions (Calbet et al 1998;Olmedillas et al 2010;Sanchís-Moysi et al 2009). Similar asymmetries, but of lower magnitude, have been reported in young tennis players (Bass et al 2002;Ducher et al 2006Ducher et al , 2009Sanchis-Moysi et al 2010). However, it remains unknown what is the role played by training frequency in the skeletal and soft-tissue adaptations elicited by training in young tennis players.…”

“…For example, (Ducher et al 2006) using DXA found similar side-to-side differences for BMC at the epiphyseal side of the radius in prepubertal tennis players (22 boys and 6 girls analyzed conjointly) who played at least twice a week compared to adult recreational tennis players (16 and 13%, for children and adults, respectively). Another study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysed the humerus in girls playing a mean 6 h/week (Bass et al 2002).…”

“…Studies focussing on specific regions of the radius (Ducher et al 2006) and humerus (Bass et al 2002;Ducher et al 2009) already reported some degree of asymmetry in prepubertal boys (Ducher et al 2009) and girls (Bass et al 2002). It has been shown that the skeleton adapts to the magnitude of the mechanical strain and the rate at which this strain is exerted in bones (Heinonen 2001;Lanyon et al 1979Lanyon et al , 1982O'Connor et al 1982).…”

Somatic maturation and the relationship between bone mineral variables and types of sports among adolescents: cross-sectional study

“…7 Several sports cause high training load during practice and thus act positively on bone accrual during growth, such as soccer, tennis and rugby. [8][9][10][11] However, the effects on bone mineral variables caused by sports participation performed in hypogravity during adolescence still remain unclear, 10,12 mainly because previous studies failed to control for the burden of important potential confounders in early life, such as training load and biological maturation. 12 In terms of bone mass gain, the pubertal period is responsible for significant accrual of bone mass in both boys and girls.…”