The effects of progressive resistance training on bone density: a review

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem that is characterized by low bone mass and increased susceptibility to fractures, primarily of the hip, spine, and wrist. It is estimated to cause 1.5 million fractures annually in the United States in people aged 50 yr and older. Physical activity, particularly weight-bearing exercise, is thought to provide the mechanical stimuli or "loading" important for the maintenance and improvement of bone health, whereas physical inactivity has been implicated in bone loss and its associated health costs. Both aerobic and resistance training exercise can provide weight-bearing stimulus to bone, yet research indicates that resistance training may have a more profound site specific effect than aerobic exercise. Over the past 10 years, nearly two dozen cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown a direct and positive relationship between the effects of resistance training and bone density. Conversely, a handful of other studies have reported little or no effect on bone density. However, these results may be partially attributable to the study design, intensity and duration of the exercise protocol, and the bone density measurement techniques used. High-intensity resistance training, in contrast to traditional pharmacological and nutritional approaches for improving bone health in older adults, has the added benefit of influencing multiple risk factors for osteoporosis including improved strength and balance and increased muscle mass.

Osteal macrophages promote in vivo intramembranous bone healing in a mouse tibial injury model

“…(1) Bone modeling, which occurs during development and is induced in adults by mechanical loading (2) or injury, (3) proceeds via uncoupled anabolic osteoblast bone formation and/or catabolic osteoclast bone resorption at distinct anatomic locations. (4) In contrast, bone remodeling is achieved through quantitatively coupled sequential events of osteoclastic bone resorption and osteoblastic bone formation within the spatial confines of basic multicellular units (BMUs).…”

Effect of 4 weeks of aerobic or resistance exercise training on arterial stiffness, blood flow and blood pressure in pre- and stage-1 hypertensives

“…5 Currently, resistance exercise (RE) is recommended as a complement to an aerobic training programme 2,6 and offers many benefits for the aging population, including the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and sarcopaenia. [7][8][9] A meta-analysis reported that dynamic resistance training reduced SBP and DBP of 4.6 and 3.8 mm Hg, respectively, 10 in normotensive adults, but the haemodynamic effects of dynamic resistance training have not been studied in a hypertensive population. Confounding the recommendation employing RE as an exercise regimen, recent evidence indicates that RE may cause increased arterial stiffness in young, healthy normotensive individuals.…”

Relationship of Physical Activity Type, Nutrition, and Bone Mineral Density in Korean Adolescents

“…23,24 After the analysis of strength exercise in controls, low, and high intensities for 1 year, the high-intensity exercise group showed improvement in BMD. 25 It was reported that endurance running exercise was also helpful to BMD. 24 However, some studies reported no significant improvement.…”