TY - JOUR

T1 - Exercise-induced rib stress fractures: influence of reduced bone mineral density

AU - Vinther, Anders

AU - Kanstrup, Inge-Lis

AU - Christiansen, Erik

AU - Alkjaer, T

AU - Larsson, Benny

AU - Magnusson, S Peter

AU - Aagaard, Per

PY - 2005/4/1

Y1 - 2005/4/1

N2 - Exercise-induced rib stress fractures have been reported frequently in elite rowers during the past decade. The etiology of rib stress fractures is unclear, but low bone mineral density (BMD) has been suggested to be a potential risk factor for stress fractures in weight-bearing bones. The present study investigated BMD in seven Danish national team rowers with previous rib stress fracture (RSF) and 7 controls (C) matched for gender, age, height, weight and training experience. Total body scan and specific scans of the lumbar spine (L2-L4), femoral neck and distal radius were performed using a DEXA scanner. The RSF subjects showed significantly lower L2-L4 BMD: RSF: 1.22+/-0.05 g cm(-2) (mean+/-SEM) (median 1.19 g cm(-2), range 1.02-1.37 g cm(-2)) compared to C: 140+/-0.04 g cm(-2) (median 1.41 g cm(-2), range 1.27-1.57 g cm(-2)) (P=0.028). The present results suggest that low bone mineral density may be a potential risk factor for the development of exercise-induced rib stress fractures in elite rowers.

AB - Exercise-induced rib stress fractures have been reported frequently in elite rowers during the past decade. The etiology of rib stress fractures is unclear, but low bone mineral density (BMD) has been suggested to be a potential risk factor for stress fractures in weight-bearing bones. The present study investigated BMD in seven Danish national team rowers with previous rib stress fracture (RSF) and 7 controls (C) matched for gender, age, height, weight and training experience. Total body scan and specific scans of the lumbar spine (L2-L4), femoral neck and distal radius were performed using a DEXA scanner. The RSF subjects showed significantly lower L2-L4 BMD: RSF: 1.22+/-0.05 g cm(-2) (mean+/-SEM) (median 1.19 g cm(-2), range 1.02-1.37 g cm(-2)) compared to C: 140+/-0.04 g cm(-2) (median 1.41 g cm(-2), range 1.27-1.57 g cm(-2)) (P=0.028). The present results suggest that low bone mineral density may be a potential risk factor for the development of exercise-induced rib stress fractures in elite rowers.

KW - Absorptiometry, Photon

KW - Adult

KW - Athletic Injuries

KW - Bone Density

KW - Case-Control Studies

KW - Exercise

KW - Female

KW - Fractures, Stress

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Rib Fractures

KW - Statistics, Nonparametric

KW - Thinness

U2 - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2004.00400.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2004.00400.x

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 15773863

VL - 15

SP - 95

EP - 99

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

SN - 0905-7188

IS - 2

ER -