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Rokayak N1, Paez G1, Salem Y1, Liu H1
1University of North Texas Health Science Center, Physical Therapy, Fort Worth, United States
Background: In the recent years, exercise has been proposed as a treatment strategy for obtaining an optimal peak bone mass. Moreover, several studies have shown that participating in exercise program can prevent osteoporosis and decrease the risk of fracture. High load exercises such as weight lifting, and strength training provide loading exercises that may improve bone mineral density. To our knowledge, there is no study that have compiled the evidence for the role of strengthening exercises in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of strengthening exercises on bone mineral density in adult women.
Methods: Electronic databases used were PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), CINAHL, Web of Science Search and Scopus. Key words included “osteoporosis”, “strength training”, and “strengthening”. Our inclusion criteria included population (adult women 18 years and older), and intervention (strength training is the main exercise program). The initial search yielded 1073 potential articles. These studies were then screened for duplications and selection criteria. Of those 1073 studies, 19 studies were considered to meet all of the required inclusion criteria.
Results: In total, 19 research studies were examined and met our inclusion criteria. All of the included studies were randomized controlled trials. Across all 19 studies, 1280 adult women were participants. Sample size for each study ranged between 20 and 226 adult women. The age range of the participants was between 18 and 70 years old. All studies showed beneficial effects of strength training in bone mineral density in adult women. No adverse effects were reported in those studies. Dosing of intervention varied in terms of frequency (ranged from 2 to 5 sessions per week), duration (ranged from 15 to 75 minutes), length of the exercise program (ranged from 6 weeks to 2 years) and mode/type of strength training used.
Conclusion(s): The results of this study showed that strength training programs are safe and effective to improve bone mineral density in adult women and can be used as a treatment strategy to prevent Osteopenia and Osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Further studies are needed to determine the appropriate mode and dosage of the exercise program.
Implications: The findings of this study suggest that strength training has beneficial effects on bone mineral density in adult women and can be used as a strategy to prevent and minimize osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.
Keywords: Osteoporosis, Strength Training
Funding acknowledgements: University of North Texas Health Science Center
Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of strengthening exercises on bone mineral density in adult women.
Methods: Electronic databases used were PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), CINAHL, Web of Science Search and Scopus. Key words included “osteoporosis”, “strength training”, and “strengthening”. Our inclusion criteria included population (adult women 18 years and older), and intervention (strength training is the main exercise program). The initial search yielded 1073 potential articles. These studies were then screened for duplications and selection criteria. Of those 1073 studies, 19 studies were considered to meet all of the required inclusion criteria.
Results: In total, 19 research studies were examined and met our inclusion criteria. All of the included studies were randomized controlled trials. Across all 19 studies, 1280 adult women were participants. Sample size for each study ranged between 20 and 226 adult women. The age range of the participants was between 18 and 70 years old. All studies showed beneficial effects of strength training in bone mineral density in adult women. No adverse effects were reported in those studies. Dosing of intervention varied in terms of frequency (ranged from 2 to 5 sessions per week), duration (ranged from 15 to 75 minutes), length of the exercise program (ranged from 6 weeks to 2 years) and mode/type of strength training used.
Conclusion(s): The results of this study showed that strength training programs are safe and effective to improve bone mineral density in adult women and can be used as a treatment strategy to prevent Osteopenia and Osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Further studies are needed to determine the appropriate mode and dosage of the exercise program.
Implications: The findings of this study suggest that strength training has beneficial effects on bone mineral density in adult women and can be used as a strategy to prevent and minimize osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.
Keywords: Osteoporosis, Strength Training
Funding acknowledgements: University of North Texas Health Science Center
Topic: Older people; Musculoskeletal
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: University of North Texas Health Science Center
Ethics committee: Department of Physical Therapy
Reason not required: This is a systematic review.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
