Long‐term musculoskeletal and cardiac health effects of recreational football and running for premenopausal women

Abstract

We examined long-term musculoskeletal and cardiac adaptations elicited by recreational football (FG, n=9) and running (RG, n=10) in untrained premenopausal women in comparison with a control group (CG, n=9). Training was performed for 16 months ( approximately 2 weekly 1-h sessions). For FG, right and left ventricular end-diastolic diameters were increased by 24% and 5% (P<0.05), respectively, after 16 months. Right ventricular systolic function measured by tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) increased (P<0.05) in FG after 4 months and further (P<0.05) after 16 months (15% and 32%, respectively). In RG and CG, cardiac structure, E/A and TAPSE remained unchanged. For FG, whole-body bone mineral density (BMD) was 2.3% and 1.3% higher (P<0.05) after 16 months, than after 4 and 0 months, respectively, with no changes for RG and CG. FG demonstrated substantial improvements (P<0.05) in fast (27% and 16%) and slow (16% and 17%) eccentric muscle strength and rapid force capacity (Imp30ms: 66% and 65%) after 16 months compared with 4 and 0 months, with RG improving Imp30ms by 64% and 46%. In conclusion, long-term recreational football improved muscle function, postural balance and BMD in adult women with a potential favorable influence on the risk of falls and fractures. Moreover, football training induced consistent cardiac adaptations, which may have implications for long-term cardiovascular health.

Effects of soccer vs swim training on bone formation in sedentary middle-aged women

“…Total lower extremity BMC was ~3 % higher after 15 weeks of soccer training corresponding to 30 g, which is comparable to previous reports of a 41 g increase in 20-45-year-old untrained men after 12 weeks of soccer training (Krustrup et al 2009), while somewhat smaller osteogenic responses have been reported previously in premenopausal women (Helge et al 2010;Krustrup et al 2010b). In comparable soccer training studies performed on untrained premenopausal women, no effects on leg BMC or BMD were reported after 14-16 weeks for 20-50-yearold women (Krustrup et al 2010b) and untrained young women (Jackman et al 2013).…”

“…In addition, the present study was carried out on artificial grass rather than natural grass, which may provide a higher mechanical loading due to the harder surface (Andersson et al 2008;Helge et al 2014a). In addition, the studies by Krustrup et al (2010b), Helge et al (2010) and Jackman et al (2013) conducted the experiments on women with an average age of 38, 37 and 29 years, respectively, while the subjects in the present study were older having an average age of 45 years with predominantly women aged 40-50 years of age and having a very low training status (Yo-Yo IE1 scores ~430 m; see Mohr et al 2014a, b). Thus, the present study provides additional support for the osteogenic effects of recreational soccer training in untrained premenopausal women close to menopause, hence supporting previous reports.…”

“…In comparable soccer training studies performed on untrained premenopausal women, no effects on leg BMC or BMD were reported after 14-16 weeks for 20-50-yearold women (Krustrup et al 2010b) and untrained young women (Jackman et al 2013). Furthermore, Helge et al (2010) found no change in total areal BMD in the legs after participation in soccer training for 14 weeks, but reported a 2-3 % increase in volumetric BMD in the tibia.…”

The effect of recreational soccer training and running on postural balance in untrained men

“…Using a cross-sectional study design elderly football players demonstrated higher RFD compared with age matched subjects , suggesting that long-term football training may lead to elevated rapid force capacity. In support of this notion, 68 weeks of low-frequency (once a week) football training successfully improved RFD in previously untrained females (Krustrup et al 2010b). Based on the present data an eVective training stimulus for improving postural control certainly appears to be present in football exercise; however, speciWc improvements in contractile RFD may require longer time (>12 weeks) to emerge.…”

The influence of the playing surface on the exercise intensity of small-sided recreational soccer games

“…However, the number of players seems not to unduly influence the heart rate response during the games (Krustrup et al, 2009;. Additionally, it has been shown that recreational soccer practice can induce long-term muscular and cardiovascular adaptations even with a reduced training frequency, which may have beneficial implications in health (Krustrup, Hansen et al, 2010;.…”