Olympic lifting is superior to power lifting in improving bone mineral density

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between anthropometrics, sport-specific training history, and bone mineral density (BMD) in female Olympic weightlifters (OL) (n=8), power lifters (PL) (n=8), soccer players (SP) (n=10), and recreationally active participants (RA) (n=11). Methods: Certain anthropometrics and BMD in the femoral neck, lumbar, and total body were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and other standard methods. BMD measurements, anthropometrics, and training history were compared using one-way ANOVA. Significance for ANOVA was set at p ˂ 0.05. Results: OL had significantly denser L2 (p = 0.013), L3 (p = 0.006), L4 (p = 0.002), and L1-L4 (p = 0.004) vertebrae than RA. PL also showed a significantly higher L4 BMD than RA (p = 0.025). All three athletic groups were significantly denser than RA (p ˂ 0.01) in total body BMD. OL were also shown to be significantly denser than PL (p = 0.021) in total body BMD, but there was no significant difference between OL and SP. At the femoral neck, both OL (p = 0.03) and SP (p ˂ 0.001) were shown to have a significantly higher BMD than RA. Conclusion: All three sports will improve total body BMD. However, Olympic weightlifting is clearly superior to power lifting in building BMD in the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and the total body. Power lifting also provides limited significant improvement in the lumbar spine as well. Soccer also has great benefits for the femoral neck, but not the lumbar spine.