Regional Bioelectrical Phase Angle Is More Informative than Whole-Body Phase Angle for Monitoring Neuromuscular Performance: A Pilot Study in Elite Young Soccer Players

• Published in: Sports (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 5; p. 66
• Main Authors: Bongiovanni, Tindaro, Rossi, Alessio, Trecroci, Athos, Martera, Giulia, Iaia, F Marcello, Alberti, Giampietro, Pasta, Giulio, Lacome, Mathieu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22-04-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Arm; Athletes; Bicycling; Body composition; Electrodes; Humanities and Social Sciences; Laboratories; Osmolarity; Soccer; Sport; Sports; Urine; youth sport; Italy; Switzerland; youth sport; soccer; body composition; Soccer; Youth sport; Body composition
• ISSN: 2075-4663; 2075-4663
• DOI: 10.3390/sports10050066

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between regional and total phase angle (PhA) with lower-body neuromuscular performance in young elite soccer players. Methods: Sixteen elite male soccer players (14.3 ± 1.0 years) participated in this study. Lower (LPhA)- and upper (UPhA)-hemisome PhA together with whole-body PhA (WBPhA) were measured by a bioelectrical-impedance analysis (BIA), while appendicular arm and leg lean soft tissue (ALST and LLST, respectively) were estimated. Urine osmolarity (UOsm) and urine-specific gravity (USG) were also considered. Sprints over 10 m and 20 m and countermovement jump (CMJ) tests were employed to evaluate neuromuscular performance. Results: LPhA (p = 0.003) and UOsm (p = 0.012) explained 62% of the variance in the 10 m sprint. UOsm (p = 0.001) and both LPhA (p < 0.001) and WBPhA (p = 0.024) explained 81% of the total variance in the 20 m sprint. The CMJ height was affected by LPhA (p < 0.001) and UOsm (p = 0.024), which overall explained 68% of its variance (p < 0.05), while 93% of the CMJ power variance was explained by LPhA (p < 0.001), ALST (p < 0.001), and WBPhA (p = 0.011). Conclusions: Regional PhA is a relevant and non-invasive tool to monitor lower-body neuromuscular performance in elite youth soccer. Specifically, LPhA may be favored over WBPhA as more informative.