Assessment and follow-up of muscle injuries in athletes by bioimpedance: Preliminary results

Mono-frequency (50 kHz) whole-body and segmental bioimpedance is measured before sport training in 14 high performance athletes. The athletes are classified in two groups according to the team sport: football and basketball. Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) method is used to obtain the individual whole-body impedance and 6 segmental impedance vectors in the main muscular groups in the lower-limbs. The whole-body vector is analyzed in the tolerance ellipses of the reference population. Individual impedance vector components are standardized by the height H of the subject, (R/H and Xc/H) to obtain the impedance vector (Z/H) of each segment. The hypotheses of the study are: 1) Not all the sports have the same pattern of bioimpedance vector by muscle group. 2) In elite well trained athletes their muscle groups are symmetrical (right and left sides), thus each athlete is its own reference for future comparisons. 3) We expect a change in the two components of bioimpedance vector (R/H and Xc/H) in front of a muscle injury. In order to compare the differences between the complex Z/H vector (R/H, Xc/H) we use Hotelling´s T2 test. Preliminary results show a significant difference (P < 0.05) in bioimpedance vectors between groups according to the team sport, and also between normal muscle condition and after muscle injury producing hyper-hydration.