Sutopu oyuncularinda karin ve sirt kaslarinin kuvvetleri ile lumbar bölge kemik mineral yoǧunluǧu arasindaki ilişki

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between abdominal and back muscle strength and lumbar bone mineral density in waterpolo players, and to investigate the effects of underwater exercises on the bone mineral density. Material and methods: Instruments and procedure, the participants of the study were 25 male (15-24 years old) waterpolo players and 25 sedentary males (15-23 years old). The average age of the waterpolo players were 17.7±2.7 (15-24) years and the average age of sedentary males were 18.6±2.4 (15-23) years. Isometric strengths of abdominal and back muscles were measured by Biodex System 3 Pro device and lumbar bone mineral density was measured by Lunar DPX-IQ device. Results: No difference was found between the isometric muscle strength and L2- L4 bone mineral density of the athletes and the control group subjects (p>0.05). There were a positive relationship between the bone mineral density values and age of the waterpolo players (r=0.60, p<0.01), between the bone mineral density and peak torque extension data value of the sedentary individuals (r=0.40, p<0.05), and between the bone mineral density and age of all participants (r=0.42, p<0.01). Also, no significant relationship was found between the bone mineral density data and the other variables (p>0.05). Conclusion: As a result of our study, findings of the present study demonstrated that water exercises and swimming have no positive effect on bone mineral density levels. Future research should include other sport groups that transfer weight on skeleton structures, and findings should be discussed in light of this knowledge.