Summary Individuals who are involved in explosive sportudtypes, such as 100-m sprints and long jump, have greaterudbone density, leg muscle size, jumping height and gripudstrength than individuals involved in long-distance running.udIntroduction The purpose of this study is to examine the relationshipudbetween different types of physical activity with bone,udlean mass and neuromuscular performance in older individuals.udMethods We examined short- (n050), middle- (n019) andudlong-distance (n0109) athletes at the 15th European MastersudChampionships in Poznań, Poland. Dual X-ray absorptiometryudwas used to measure areal bone mineral density (aBMD) andudlean tissue mass. Maximal countermovement jump, multipleudone-leg hopping and maximal grip force tests were performed.udResults Short-distance athletes showed significantly higherudaBMD at the legs, hip, lumbar spine and trunk compared toudlong-distance athletes (p≤0.0012). Countermovement jumpudperformance, hop force, grip force, leg lean mass and armudlean mass were greater in short-distance athletes (p≤0.027). Audsimilar pattern was seen in middle-distance athletes who typicallyudshowed higher aBMD and better neuromuscular performanceudthan long-distance athletes, but lower in magnitudeudthan short-distance athletes. In all athletes, aBMD was theudsame or higher than the expected age-adjusted populationudmean at the lumbar spine, hip and whole body. This effectudwas greater in the short- and middle-distance athletes.udConclusions The stepwise relation between short-,middle- andudlong-distance athletes on bone suggests that the higher-impactudloading protocols in short-distance disciplines are more effectiveudin promoting aBMD. The regional effect on bone, with theuddifferences between the groups being most marked at loadbearingudregions (legs, hip, spine and trunk) rather than nonload-udbearing regions, is further evidence in support of the ideaudthat bone adaptation to exercise is dependent upon the localudloading environment, rather than as part of a systemic effect.
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