Body composition, training volume/pattern and injury status of Slovenian adolescent female high-performance gymnasts

Boštjan Jakše (Author), Barbara Jakše (Author), Ivan Čuk (Author), Dorica Šajber (Author)

Abstract

Body composition (BC), training volume/pattern, and injury status are a few important factors affecting training quality and sport performance in female artistic gymnastics. We aimed to examine BC status, training volume/pattern, and injury status during the first competition period. Our cross-sectional study included 17 female gymnasts (age: 17.4 ± 4.1 years, body height: 159.8 ± 6.2 cm, and body weight: 54.8 ± 5.3 kg) who were high performance at the international and national level. The BC (measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) parameters included body height and mass, body fat percentage (BF %), lean body mass (LBM), body mass index (BMI), total bone mineral density (BMD total), and total bone mineral content (BMC total). Training volume and pattern were assessed via an author-developed questionnaire, while injury status (i.e., anatomical location, symmetry and rate of injuries) was assessed via a modified questionnaire on overuse injuries used in sports injury epidemiology studies with elite-level athletes. Body composition parameters were as follows: the BMI was 21.5 ± 1.4 kg/m$^2$, BF % was 21.9 ± 4.7%, LBM was 41.2 ± 3.4 kg, BMD total was 1.22 ± 0.08 g/cm$^2$, and BMC total was 2486 ± 344 g. Furthermore, the average weekly volume of training was 23.5 ± 1.4 h, with the highest training volume occurring on Monday and Tuesday and high variability within gymnasts. Our study also revealed that the most frequently injured joints that had the most negative impact on training volume, sport performance and pain status were the ankles and low back, followed by the knees and shoulders. This kind of yearly screening method is warranted to allow more definitive conclusions to be made on adjusted training and preventive strategies.

Keywords

sport;gymnasts;artistic gymnastics;high performance;elite level;female;body composition;training volume;injuries;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2021
Typology:	1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:	UL FŠ - Faculty of Sport
UDC:	796.41
COBISS:	52474627
ISSN:	1660-4601
Views:	186
Downloads:	66
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary keywords:	šport;gimnastičarke;gimnastika;vrhunski šport;ženske;telesna sestava;morfologija;trening;poškodbe;
Type (COBISS):	Article
Pages:	str. 1-12
Volume:	ǂVol. ǂ18
Issue:	ǂiss. ǂ4, ǂart. ǂ2019
Chronology:	2021
DOI:	10.3390/ijerph18042019
ID:	14562734