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

Anders Vinther, Inge-Lis Kanstrup, Erik Christiansen, T Alkjaer, Benny Larsson, S Peter Magnusson, Per Aagaard

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    23 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    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.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalScandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
    Volume15
    Issue number2
    Pages (from-to)95-9
    Number of pages5
    ISSN0905-7188
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2005

    Keywords

    • Absorptiometry, Photon
    • Adult
    • Athletic Injuries
    • Bone Density
    • Case-Control Studies
    • Exercise
    • Female
    • Fractures, Stress
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Rib Fractures
    • Statistics, Nonparametric
    • Thinness

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