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Structural and functional cardiac adaptations to a 10‐week school‐based football intervention for 9–10‐year‐old children
Author(s) -
Krustrup P.,
Hansen P. R.,
Nielsen C. M.,
Larsen M. N.,
Randers M. B.,
Manniche V.,
Hansen L.,
Dvorak J.,
Bangsbo J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.12277
Subject(s) - medicine , football players , isovolumetric contraction , interventricular septum , football , blood pressure , heart rate , ejection fraction , cardiology , physical therapy , diastole , heart failure , ventricle , political science , law
The present study investigated the cardiac effects of a 10‐week football training intervention for school children aged 9–10 years using comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography as a part of a larger ongoing study. A total of 97 pupils from four school classes were cluster‐randomized into a control group that maintained their usual activities ( CON ; two classes, n = 51, 21 boys and 30 girls) and a football training group that performed an additional 3 × 40 min of small‐sided football training per week ( FT ; two classes, n = 46, 23 boys and 23 girls). No baseline differences were observed in age, body composition, or echocardiographic variables between FT and CON . After the 10‐week intervention, left ventricular posterior wall diameter was increased in FT compared with CON [0.4 ± 0.7 vs −0.1 ± 0.6 (± SD ) mm; P < 0.01] as was the interventricular septum thickness (0.2 ± 0.7 vs −0.2 ± 0.8 mm; P < 0.001). Global isovolumetric relaxation time increased more in FT than in CON (3.8 ± 10.4 vs −0.9 ± 6.6 ms, P < 0.05) while the change in ventricular systolic ejection fraction tended to be higher (1.4 ± 8.0 vs −1.1 ± 5.5%; P = 0.08). No changes were observed in resting heart rate or blood pressure. In conclusion, a short‐term, school‐based intervention comprising small‐sided football sessions resulted in significant structural and functional cardiac adaptations in pre‐adolescent children.