Peripheral Nerve Conduction and Anthropometric Characteristics in Elite American Football Players: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

Background/Objectives: American football exposes athletes to repeated collisions and intense physical loading. This exploratory study compared anthropometric characteristics and peripheral nerve conduction parameters between elite American football players and healthy sedentary men.

Methods

Thirty-six elite male players and 39 sedentary male controls underwent anthropometric assessment and motor and sensory nerve conduction studies (NCSs) of the upper and lower extremities. Groups were compared with Welch’s t-test, and effect sizes (Hedges’ g) were reported with 95% confidence intervals. The false discovery rate (FDR) was controlled across all 110 NCS parameters, which were also analysed in linear models adjusted for age, for age, height and body mass index, and for age and local limb circumference.