Comparison Of Bone Density In High School And College Female Volleyball Players

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a significant public health problem for individuals over age 50 (55% are at risk), particularly for women. A key preventive strategy is increasing peak bone mass in youth. Limited information exists on the role that competitive sport activities can play in developing bone mass. Volleyball is a popular sport for girls and involves high impact activity and commonly plyometric training. PURPOSE The purpose of the study was to compare bone mineral density (BMD) between high school and college competitive volleyball players. Relationships between BMD and age and years of competitive play were also analyzed. METHODS Subject inclusion criteria were: play volleyball >7 months in a year, no eating disorders, not amenorrhoeic, and did not use calcium supplements (doctor recommended). Subjects were female volleyball players; 13 from high school (HS), and 13 from college (C). The mean (± SD) age, weight, body composition, and years played VB for the HS players were 16.2 ± 1.3 yr, 67.4 ± 8.0 kg, 27.2 ± 5.3 %, and 7.2 ± 1.2 yr. and for the C players were 19.5 ± 1.0 yr, 74.2 ± 9.2 kg, 28.4 ± 4.7%, and 8.5 ± 2.3 yr. respectively. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry absorptiometry (DEXA, General Electric Medical Systems, Lunar Prodigy, Madison, WI) was used to determine the body composition and BMD at the following regions: AP spine, dual femur, and total body. RESULTS The only significant descriptive difference was in body weight. AP spine (1.36 ± .14 g/cm2 for HS vs. 1.41 ± .10 g/cm2 for C), dual femur (1.23 ± .06 g/cm2 for HS vs. 1.21 ± .10 g/cm2 for C), and total body measurements (1.25 ± .06 g/cm2 for HS and 1.28 ± .08 g/cm2 for C) were not significantly different between the two groups. The correlations between age and AP spine (r=.207), dual femur (r = −.212), and total body (r = .146) were not significant. Likewise, the correlations between years playing volleyball and AP spine (r=.219) dual femur (r = −.139), and total body (r=.181) were not significant. CONCLUSION College volleyball players did not have greater BMD than high school players.