Lean Mass, Muscle Strength, and Muscle Quality in Retired Rugby
                    Players: The UK Rugby Health Project

Ian Entwistle; Peter Francis; Matthew Lees; Patria Hume; Karen Hind

doi:10.1055/a-1854-0052

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2022; 43(11): 958-963
DOI: 10.1055/a-1854-0052

Training & Testing

Lean Mass, Muscle Strength, and Muscle Quality in Retired Rugby Players: The UK Rugby Health Project

Ian Entwistle

¹Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

²Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

,

Peter Francis

³Department of Science and Health, Institute of Technology Carlow, Carlow, Ireland

,

Matthew Lees

⁴Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

,

Patria Hume

⁵Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

,

Karen Hind

¹Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

²Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Although athletes from sports such as rugby have greater lean mass and strength during their playing careers, little is known about these characteristics post-retirement. Therefore, this study investigated lean mass, strength, and muscle quality in retired elite and amateur rugby players and non-contact athletes. Retired elite male rugby players (n=42, 43.9±10.3 y; 101.1±13.4 kg; 1.82±0.09 m), amateur rugby players (n=46, 48.0±10.5 y; 98.9±16.6 kg; 1.79±0.07 m) and non-contact athletes (n=30, 51.3±12.5 y; 91.3±13.4 kg; 1.79±0.07 m) received one total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry assessment of appendicular lean mass (ALM) and ALM index (ALMI). Grip strength was measured, and muscle quality (grip strength/unit of arm lean mass) was calculated. Sarcopenia was identified as ALMI<7.23 kg/m² and handgrip strength<37.2 kg. Total lean mass, ALM and grip strength were greater in the elite rugby compared to amateur rugby and non-contact groups (p<0.01). There were no significant differences in muscle quality or sarcopenia prevalence. Retired elite rugby players had greater lean mass and grip strength than amateur rugby and non-contact athletes, although muscle quality was similar. The greater lean mass and strength might reflect genetic influences or previous participation in a highly physical sport.

Key words

former athletes - retirement - sport - ageing - muscle - strength - sarcopenia

Full Text

References

References
1 Peterson MD, Sen A, Gordon PM. Influence of resistance exercise on lean body mass in aging adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2011; 43: 249-258
2 Reale R, Burke LM, Cox GR. et al. Body composition of elite Olympic combat sport athletes. Eur J Sport Sci 2020; 20: 147-156
3 Olds T. The evolution of physique in male rugby union players in the twentieth century. J Sports Sci 2001; 19: 253-262
4 Hind K, Gannon L, Brightmore A. et al. Insights into relationships between body mass, composition and bone: findings in elite rugby players. J Clin Densitom 2015; 18: 172-178
5 Elloumi M, Ounis OB, Courteix D. et al. Long-term rugby practice enhances bone mass and metabolism in relation with physical fitness and playing position. J Bone Miner Metab 2009; 27: 713-720
6 Johnston RD, Gabbett TJ, Jenkins DG. Applied sport science of rugby league. Sports Med 2014; 44: 1087-1100
7 Till K, Cobley S, O’Hara J. et al. Retrospective analysis of anthropometric and fitness characteristics associated with long-term career progression in rugby league. J Sci Med Sport 2015; 18: 310-314
8 Baker DG, Newton RU. Comparison of lower body strength, power, acceleration, speed, agility, and sprint momentum to describe and compare playing rank among professional rugby league players. J Strength Cond Res 2008; 22: 153-158
9 Dodds RM, Syddall HE, Cooper R. et al. Grip strength across the life course: Normative data from twelve British studies. PLoS One 2014; 9: e113637
10 Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J. et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing 2019; 48: 16-31
11 Rosenberg IH. Summary comments. Am J Clin Nutr 1989; 50: 1231-1233
12 Morley JE, Baumgartner RN, Roubenoff R. et al. Sarcopenia. J Lab Clin Med 2001; 137: 231-243
13 Goodpaster BH, Park SW, Harris TB. et al. The loss of skeletal muscle strength, mass, and quality in older adults: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2006; 61: 1059-1064
14 Mayhew AJ, Amog K, Phillips S. et al. The prevalence of sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults, an exploration of differences between studies and within definitions: a systematic review and meta-analyses. Age Ageing 2019; 48: 48-56
15 Newman AB, Kupelian V, Visser M. et al. Strength, but not muscle mass, is associated with mortality in the health, aging and body composition study cohort. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2006; 61: 72-77
16 McLeod M, Breen L, Hamilton DL. et al. Live strong and prosper: the importance of skeletal muscle strength for healthy ageing. Biogerontology 2016; 17: 497-510
17 Ruiz JR, Sui X, Lobelo F. et al. Association between muscular strength and mortality in men: prospective cohort study. BMJ 2008; 337: a439
18 Sayer AA, Syddall H, Martin H. et al. The developmental origins of sarcopenia. J Nutr Health Aging 2008; 12: 427-432
19 Lynch NA, Metter EJ, Lindle RS. et al. Muscle quality. I. Age-associated differences between arm and leg muscle groups. J Appl Physiol (1985) 1999; 86: 188-194
20 Barbat-Artigas S, Rolland Y, Zamboni M. et al. How to assess functional status: A new muscle quality index. J Nutr Health Aging 2012; 16: 67-77
21 Lees MJ, Wilson OJ, Hind K. et al. Muscle quality as a complementary prognostic tool in conjunction with sarcopenia assessment in younger and older individuals. Eur J Appl Physiol 2019; 119: 1171-1181
22 Lauretani F, Russo CR, Bandinelli S. et al. Age-associated changes in skeletal muscles and their effect on mobility: an operational diagnosis of sarcopenia. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2003; 95: 1851-1860
23 Moore AZ, Caturegli G, Metter EJ. et al. Difference in muscle quality over the adult life span and biological correlates in the Baltimore longitudinal study of aging. J Am Geriatr Soc 2014; 62: 230-236
24 Cooper R, Hardy R, Bann D. et al. Body mass index from age 15 years onwards and muscle mass, strength, and quality in early old age: findings from the MRC national survey of health and development. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014; 69: 1253-1259
25 Hind K, Konerth N, Entwistle I. et al. Cumulative sport-related injuries and longer term impact in retired male elite-and amateur-level rugby code athletes and non-contact athletes: a retrospective study. Sports Med 2020; 50: 2051-2061
26 Hind K, Oldroyd B, Truscott JG. In vivo precision of the GE Lunar iDXA densitometer for the measurement of total body composition and fat distribution in adults. Eur J Clin Nutr 2011; 65: 140-142
27 NCHS. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) Muscle strength procedures manual 2011. CDC, 2011
28 Studenski SA, Peters KW, Alley DE. et al. The FNIH sarcopenia project: rationale, study description, conference recommendations, and final estimates. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2014; 69: 547-558
29 Gould H, Brennan SL, Kotowicz MA. et al. Total and appendicular lean mass reference ranges for Australian men and women: The Geelong osteoporosis study. Calcif Tissue Int 2014; 94: 363-372
30 Cawthon PM, Lui LY, Taylor BC. et al. Clinical definitions of sarcopenia and risk of hospitalization in community-dwelling older men: the osteoporotic fractures in men study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2017; 72: 1383-1389
31 Cohen J. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates; 1988
32 Simon JE, Docherty CL. The impact of previous athletic experience on current physical fitness in former collegiate athletes and noncollegiate athletes. Sports Health 2017; 9: 462-468
33 Till K, Jones B, O’Hara J. et al. Three-compartment body composition in academy and senior rugby league players. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2016; 11: 191-196
34 Imboden MT, Swartz AM, Finch HW. et al. Reference standards for lean mass measures using GE dual energy x-ray absorptiometry in Caucasian adults. PLoS One 2017; 12: e0176161
35 Barbat-Artigas S, Rolland Y, Vellas B. et al. Muscle quantity is not synonymous with muscle quality. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2013; 14: 852.e1-852.e7
36 McHugh C, Hind K, Cunningham J. et al. A career in sport does not eliminate risk of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the cardiovascular health of field-based athletes. J Sci Med Sport 2020; 23: 792-799
37 Laine MK, Eriksson JG, Kujala UM. et al. Former male elite athletes have better metabolic health in late life than their controls. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2016; 26: 284-290
38 Fielding R, Vellas B, Evans WJ. Sarcopenia: an undiagnosed condition in older adults. Consensus definition: prevalence, etiology, and consequences. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2012; 12: 249-256