Assessment of bone mineral density in forearms of collegiate ten-pin bowlers

Abstract

Studies have demonstrated the effect of dominance on bone mineral density (BMD) of both weight bearing and non-weight bearing limbs and the effect of physical activity and specific sports, such as tennis, gymnastics, and volleyball on bmd of the predominantly used limb(s) versus non-used limb(s). Like tennis and volleyball, the Wichita State University (WSU) bowling team performs a high volume of repetitive use of their bowling arm on a regular basis. This is the first study to investigate the effect of ten-pin bowling at an elite collegiate level on BMD of the bowling arm compared to the non-bowling arm. Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry Unit (Hologic QDR 4500W Elite) was used to assess BMD of bilateral arms (whole body scan) and bilateral forearms (forearm scan) of 25 (N=13 males, N=12 females) collegiate bowlers (20.72 ± 1.46 yrs). In this study, the forearm scans showed significantly greater (p<0.05) BMD in the bowling arm (0.635 ± .05 g·cm-2) compared to the non-bowling arm (0.618 ± .06 g·cm-2) of both male and female bowlers. However, when separated by gender, the female bowling arm showed a significantly greater difference between arms (4.1 ± 3.1% difference, p<0.05) and compared to the males (1.5 ± 2.6% difference, p<0.05). Whole body scans of the left and right arms were also assessed and similar results were observed in the bowling arm compared to the non-bowling arms of males (3.81 ± 5.19%, p<0.05) and females (4.15 ± 2.54%, p<0.05). In conclusion, the female elite level collegiate ten-pin bowlers demonstrate an increased BMD in the bowling forearm when compared to the non-bowling forearm.