Bone Adaptation to Physical Activity in Tennis Players
Summary
Tennis is a unilateral, high-impact sport that imposes repetitive mechanical loads on the skeleton, driving site-specific bone adaptation. The dominant arm of tennis players typically exhibits greater bone mass, density and cross-sectional geometry than the non-dominant arm, reflecting a local response to habitual loading. Across maturation, these asymmetries are modulated by pubertal stage, sex and training volume, with pre- to early pubertal players showing the greatest relative gains in bone mineral content and periosteal expansion. In older recreational players, stroke mechanics further influence skeletal adaptation beyond arm-specific effects, extending benefits to the lumbar spine and hip. These structural changes not only enhance functional performance and injury resilience in tennis but also offer insights into the optimisation of exercise prescriptions for lifelong bone health and osteoporosis prevention.
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Bone Adaptation to Physical Activity in Tennis Players publication trend
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Technical terms
Bone mineral density (BMD): the amount of mineral mass per unit volume of bone, indicative of its strength and fracture resistance.
Bone mineral content (BMC): the total mineral mass within a defined region of bone, reflecting cumulative modelling and remodelling.
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA): imaging technique that quantifies BMD and BMC non-invasively.
Periosteal expansion: outward growth of the bone’s outer surface, increasing cross-sectional size in response to loading.
Mechanotransduction: cellular process by which mechanical forces are converted into biochemical signals driving bone adaptation.
References
- Inter-arm bone mass and size asymmetries in children tennis players are maturity status specific: a 9-month study on the effects of training time across pubertal change and somatic growth. European Journal of Applied Physiology (2024).
- Effects of backhand stroke styles on bone mineral content and density in postmenopausal recreational tennis players: a cross-sectional pilot investigation. BMC Women's Health (2021).
- Stress Analysis of the Radius and Ulna in Tennis at Different Flexion Angles of the Elbow. Mathematics (2023).
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