Differences in regional muscle distribution in football players

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine whether there are differences in regional distribution of muscle mass between a dominant and a non-dominant side and between an injured and an uninjured side. The study involved 31 participant with the following characteristics: aged 22±5 years, body height (TV) 184±13 cm, body weight (TM) 80±13 kg, average body fat weight (BF) 14,35 kg, body mass index (BMI) 24,8±4, and average percentage of body fat 15,5% (PBF). Of the total number of participants, 16 players (TIM 1) are playing football in the Croatian Second Division and 15 players (TIM 2) are playing in the Second County League. Measurements of muscle mass were conducted in two ways - measurements with bioelectrical impedance (BIA) and anthropometric measurements. The girth was measured at eight different places - left and right forearm and upper arm, left and right leg and thigh. Additionally, the skin folds were measured on each side of the body: the skin fold on posterior side of the upper arm (triceps), on lateral side of the forearm, on anterior side of the thigh and on medial side of the lower leg. Data on muscle mass of individual segments of the left and right sides of the body were obtained with GAIA 359 device. The results of the statistical test showed a statistically significant difference among all groups except the differences between the dominant and non-dominant hand in TIM-1. In TIM-2, the average value of difference in muscle mass for arms is 0,012 kg and for legs 0,268 kg, both values in favor of the dominant hand. In TIM-1, the average value of difference in muscle mass is 0,087 kg in favor of non-dominant leg; the reason could be in a greater number of injuries on the dominant side. When it comes to injuries, both teams have seven players who suffered different injuries, of that number all the injuries were on the dominant leg in the TIM-1, whereas only two injuries were on the dominant side in TIM-2. The difference between the average muscle mass between injured and uninjured leg was 0,11 kg for TIM-1 in favor of the uninjured leg. The difference was 0,43 kg for TIM-2, also in favor of the uninjured leg. The results did not show a statistical significance for the difference in muscle mass between the injured side and the opposite side. The results indicate that there are differences in muscle mass on dominant side and opposite side in football players. Differences in muscle mass on injured and uninjured leg did not show any statistical significance, but the reason for that could be a relatively small number of tested subjects. Future research should include a larger number of participants. Additionally, attention should also be paid on time duration between the injury occurrence and the measurement.

Keywords

• football
• anthropometry
• muscle mass
• fat mass
• injury