Not Just a Man's World

I originally started lifting weights to build up some bone density, so I’ve been fascinated to see that there have been several bone density studies carried out, published, or reviewed recently.  Several of these have also piqued my interest because they have focussed on studies done in older men and women, especially those in their sixties.  This is the population where osteopenia and osteoporosis start to reveal themselves. 

This is also the category that my mother fits into.  My mother has undergone two hip replacements this year and has since been focussing hard on getting her muscles and joints working again at their best so that she can get back to doing the things she enjoys and enabling her to get the most out of life with minimal further damage to her body.  We have been arming her with various mobility, stability and strength exercises recently and I am immensely proud of her determination and progress.

So, with all of that in mind, here’s a pick of the best articles I’ve seen recently:

1. The best exercises for healthy bones, The New York Times.  I stumbled across this article thanks to an article on Male Pattern Fitness.  I’m not even going to try to go into the detail of each article that the NYT calls on but the essence of the article is that some of the latest research suggests that it’s not necessarily the load that is applied to the bone that causes it to put on additional bone mass, but rather the act of bending it.  Therefore activities like brisk walking, hopping and jumping could give better bone density improvements than lifting weights.
2. Strong thighs may mean less knee pain for women.  This article summarises a study done of 3,000 men and women.  While thigh strength didn’t prove to be a strong predictor of osteoarthritis, women with the strongest thighs had a lower incidence of symptomatic or painful knee osteo-arthritis.  Interestingly, this same pattern was not seen in men.  Since reports of pain are based on the individual’s concept of what constitutes “painful”, this could be distinction caused by different concepts of pain by men and women, rather than a real distinction.  Of course the stronger thighs are probably themselves only an indicator of certain exercise or activity which could be creating both stronger thighs and reduced pain.
3. Time-course of exercise and its association with 12-month bone changes.  Exercise has been shown to have positive effects on bone density and strength.  However, knowledge of the time-course of exercise and bone changes is scarce due to lack of methods to quantify and qualify daily physical activity in long-term.  The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between exercise intensity and 12-month changes in femur bone mineral density in healthy premenopausal women.  The number of high acceleration impacts during 6 months of training was positively associated with 12-month femoral bone changes.
4. A meta-analysis of impact exercise on postmenopausal bone loss: the case for mixed loading exercise programmes.  The objective of this study was to assess the effects of differing impact exercise protocols on postmenopausal bone loss at the hip and spine.  Two independent reviewers assessed controlled trials evaluating effects of impact exercise on lumbar spine, femoral neck and total hip bone mineral density in postmenopausal women for inclusion.  Impact protocols that included jogging mixed with walking and stair climbing, and protocols that incorporated impact exercise with high-magnitude loading (resistance exercises), were effective at lumbar spine.  Effects on femoral neck bone mineral density following these types of protocols were also significant.
5. Exercise and bone health: optimising bone structure during growth is key, but all is not in vain during ageing.  The reduction in bone strength and resultant increase in low-trauma fractures associated with ageing represents a prominent and growing societal problem. Although numerous pharmacological agents have been developed to prevent and treat reductions in bone strength as a means to reduce fractures, a commonly advocated intervention is the prescription of load-bearing exercise.  That the skeleton is mechanosensitive across the lifespan and responds and adapts to its prevailing mechanical environment is supported by two independent, yet related, articles in this issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.  These papers highlight the potential role of exercise on bone health at two differing stages of the lifespan.  Firstly, Kato et al performed a cross-sectional study to show that exercise when young may have lasting effects on bone health during ageing.  Secondly, Martyn-St James and Carroll performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to demonstrate that exercise can have beneficial effects on the postmenopausal skeleton.   Kato et al found that weight-bearing exercise when young was found to have persistent effects on bone mass.
6. Gait Variability Detects Women in Early Postmenopause With Low Bone Mineral Density.  Women in early postmenopause and with low bone mineral density may exhibit early markers for physical frailty as a result of sarcopenia and osteopenia.  The purpose of this study was to determine whether women in early postmenopause and with low bone mineral density exhibit decreased physical performance and differences in gait variability and fall and fracture rates.   Women in early postmenopause and with low bone mineral density exhibited increased gait variability in step time and stance time but did not exhibit differences in balance, strength, or gait speed. Gait variability may be more sensitive for detecting differences in women in early postmenopause and with or without low bone mineral density than more typical measures of physical performance.

I hope you find them interesting.

Related posts:

1. Blog-watch: acid-base and bone density
2. Blog-watch: recent glute news
3. Blog-watch: should women train like men?
4. Blog-watch: Bret’s female strength levels