Purpose: The purpose of this 4-yr prospective follow-up study of male tennis players was to determine the changes in the playing-to-nonplaying arm differences in bone mineral content (BMC) and answer two questions: 1) Are training induced bone gains lost with decreased training? and 2) Are the possible bone changes related to the changes in training?
Methods: Subjects were 13 former competitive male tennis players and their 13 controls. The players had started their playing career at the mean age of 11 yr. The initial comparisons between the playing and contralateral arms' BMC were done in 1992 (mean age 26 yr), and follow-up was performed 4 yr later. The players were competing at the national top level in the beginning of the study, and all had retired from the top tennis (mean) 2.3+/-0.6 yr before follow-up. Accordingly, they had reduced the average training frequency from 5.2 times a week to 2.6 times a week and the mean hours of training per week from 7.6 to 3.3.
Results: The 1996 measurements revealed that on average the players' exercise-induced bone gain in the playing arm had not disappeared with time despite decreased average playing activity and that observed bone changes were not related to changes in training. The side-to-side BMC differences were largest in the humeral shaft (25% in 1992 and 26% 4 yr later) and the proximal humerus (19% and 18%). The radial shaft difference was 14% and the distal radius difference 13% in both 1992 and 1996. In controls, the side-to-side BMC differences were small, less than 5%, and they did not change by time.
Conclusions: In conclusion, this study suggests that bone gain obtained by regular tennis training does not disappear by time despite decreased playing activity. Regular exercise can be valuable for maximizing peak bone mass and thus contributing to prevention of osteoporosis and related fractures later in life.