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).

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.

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.

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).

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.