Effect of grappling and striking combat sports on pre-adolescent bone mineral

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is compare the effects of nine months of training in combat sports on the bone tissue of pre-adolescents. METHODS: The sample was composed by 32 pre-adolescents, control (N.=6), judo (N.=17) and Muay Thai group (N.=9). Weight and height measurements were performed to calculate the body mass index. The bone mineral content (g), bone mineral density (g/cm2) and fat free mass (kg) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Somatic maturation was determined by the peak height velocity. The intervention it was through two types of martial arts judo and Muay Thai twice a week with 90-minute sessions, for nine months. RESULTS: When analyzing the effect size of the differences within the groups for several variables of bone mineral density and bone mineral content using Cohen’s d, it was observed that the for the legs (d=0.55) and column (d=0.59) bone mineral density and trunk (d=0.50) bone mineral content in the Muay Thai group and the arms (d=0.57), trunk (d=0.54), pelvis (d=0.54) and total (d=0.52) bone mineral content for judo, these increases had a significant effect. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, it is concluded that practice of combat modalities can contribute to increased bone mineral content and bone mineral density, especially the Muay Thai. (Cite this article as: Costa Júnior P, Franchini E, Ciccotti Saraiva BT, Gobbo LA, Casonatto J, Fernandes RA, et al. Effect of grappling and striking combat sports on pre-adolescent bone mineral.