I have osteoporosis, can I still exercise in the water, or am I wasting my time?
Have you heard that your favorite water exercise does next to nothing to help your osteoporosis or osteopenia?
The latest systematic review and meta-analysis has something to say about this.
Published in March, 2023, The effect of aquatic exercise on bone mineral density in older adults. A systematic review and meta-analysis took 11 studies and pooled the data to come up with some interesting conclusions.
Let's first say, land-based weight training is superior. But what if you, or someone you know, has difficulty with land-based exercise?
This latest review found significant improvement in the bone status of both the lumbar spine and femur after at least 6 months of regular water exercise. As with all systematic reviews, the exercise protocols in the studies were all quite different, making it hard to say exactly what aquatic exercise is best.
Here are some general conclusions and recommendations for water exercise to build bone:
The studies followed post-menopausal women doing water-based exercises for at least 6 months - so you need to stick with this for a while to get a benefit.
Only one of the 11 studies included involved swimming.
10 studies used exercises in the water involving jumping, running in place, ski movements, using resistance equipment and bands, vertical jumping or squats.
Two study’s participants were taking Alendronate (a bisphosphonate, brand name Fosamax).
Almost all of the participants were overweight.
What should we do with this information?
Breathe a sigh of relief if you have been doing water exercises and enjoy them. Keep it up.
If you have been incorporating high-intensity jump-based exercises in the water, even better.
If you swim laps, you may want to add high-intensity jump-based exercises to your pool time.
That's all for today. Here in Vermont, the summer heat and humidity sure makes the pool an inviting place to be. I may do a bit of water exercise today as well.
Stay strong and retire active,
Andrea Trombley PT. DPT
Reference:
Schinzel, E., Kast, S., Kohl, M., von Stengel, S., Jakob, F., Kerschan-Schindl, K., Kladny, B., Lange, U., Peters, S., Thomasius, F., Clausen, J., Uder, M., & Kemmler, W. (2023). The effect of aquatic exercise on bone mineral density in older adults. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in physiology, 14, 1135663. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1135663
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