Positional Differences in Muscle-to-bone Ratio in National Football League Players
Int J Sports Med DOI: 10.1055/a-2089-8068The purpose of the present study was to examine the muscle-to-bone ratio (MBR) in
National Football League (NFL) players. Three hundred and forty-six NFL players
had their total body lean, fat and bone masses determined using dual X-ray
absorptiometry and were compared to 228 age-matched, healthy male controls.
Compared to the control group, NFL players had a significantly lower percent
total body fat (17.90±6.92 vs. 22.93±8.96%,
p=0.053), but significantly greater total fat mass (19.76±11.29
vs. 17.84±12.11 kg, p<0.0001), lean mass
(84.55±8.75 vs. 55.3±11.79 kg, p<0.0001), bone
mineral content (4.58±0.45 vs. 2.91±0.67 kg,
p<0.0001), and bone mineral density (1.61±0.11 vs.
1.26±0.21 g/cm2, p<0.0001). NFL
players had greater arm MBR (17.70±1.47 vs. 16.48±1.88,
p<0.0001) than controls; however, both trunk (26.62±2.55 vs.
31.56±4.19, p<0.0001) and total (18.50±1.31 vs.
19.12±1.88, p<0.001) MBR were lower in NFL players. Leg MBR was
not significantly different between NFL players and controls (16.72±1.53
vs. 16.85±1.87, p=0.34). When NFL players were categorized by
their offensive or defensive position for comparison, no differences in total
MBR were observed. However, leg MBR varied greatly among NFL pla...
Source: International Journal of Sports Medicine - Category: Sports Medicine Authors: Dengel, Donald R Evanoff, Nicholas G Tags: Training & Testing Source Type: research