Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Sports Medicine logoLink to British Journal of Sports Medicine
. 1996 Sep;30(3):209–212. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.30.3.209

Exercise therapy for osteoporosis: results of a randomised controlled trial.

E Preisinger 1, Y Alacamlioglu 1, K Pils 1, E Bosina 1, M Metka 1, B Schneider 1, E Ernst 1
PMCID: PMC1332332  PMID: 8889112

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To define the effects of therapeutic exercise on bone density and back complaints. METHODS: A randomised controlled trial with parallel groups was conducted in an outpatient clinic, Medical School, University of Vienna. Ninety two sedentary post-menopausal women with back problems were randomly allocated to either exercise (groups 1 and 2) or control (group 3, no exercise, n = 31); the exercise group was retrospectively subdivided into compliant (group 1, n = 27) and not fully compliant patients (group 2, n = 34). Regular, initially supervised therapeutic exercise aimed at restoring biomechanical function was performed for four years. Bone density in the forearm was measured by single photon absorptiometry at entry and after four years; subjective back complaints were documented. RESULTS: A significant decrease in bone density was observed in groups 2 and 3; no change was noted in group 1; back complaints decreased in group 1 only. CONCLUSIONS: Sedentary postmenopausal women may benefit from regular long term therapeutic exercise in terms of subjective back complaints and slowed loss of bone mass.

Full text

PDF
211

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aloia J. F., Cohn S. H., Babu T., Abesamis C., Kalici N., Ellis K. Skeletal mass and body composition in marathon runners. Metabolism. 1978 Dec;27(12):1793–1796. doi: 10.1016/0026-0495(78)90265-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BASSETT C. A., BECKER R. O. Generation of electric potentials by bone in response to mechanical stress. Science. 1962 Sep 28;137(3535):1063–1064. doi: 10.1126/science.137.3535.1063. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dalsky G. P., Stocke K. S., Ehsani A. A., Slatopolsky E., Lee W. C., Birge S. J., Jr Weight-bearing exercise training and lumbar bone mineral content in postmenopausal women. Ann Intern Med. 1988 Jun;108(6):824–828. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-108-6-824. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Elnaggar I. M., Nordin M., Sheikhzadeh A., Parnianpour M., Kahanovitz N. Effects of spinal flexion and extension exercises on low-back pain and spinal mobility in chronic mechanical low-back pain patients. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1991 Aug;16(8):967–972. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199108000-00018. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ernst E. Can exercise prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis? Br J Sports Med. 1994 Mar;28(1):5–6. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.28.1.5. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ettinger B., Black D. M., Nevitt M. C., Rundle A. C., Cauley J. A., Cummings S. R., Genant H. K. Contribution of vertebral deformities to chronic back pain and disability. The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. J Bone Miner Res. 1992 Apr;7(4):449–456. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.5650070413. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Frost H. M. The mechanostat: a proposed pathogenic mechanism of osteoporoses and the bone mass effects of mechanical and nonmechanical agents. Bone Miner. 1987 Apr;2(2):73–85. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Heinrich C. H., Going S. B., Pamenter R. W., Perry C. D., Boyden T. W., Lohman T. G. Bone mineral content of cyclically menstruating female resistance and endurance trained athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1990 Oct;22(5):558–563. doi: 10.1249/00005768-199010000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lanyon L. E. Functional strain as a determinant for bone remodeling. Calcif Tissue Int. 1984;36 (Suppl 1):S56–S61. doi: 10.1007/BF02406134. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Manniche C., Hesselsøe G., Bentzen L., Christensen I., Lundberg E. Clinical trial of intensive muscle training for chronic low back pain. Lancet. 1988 Dec 24;2(8626-8627):1473–1476. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)90944-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Margulies J. Y., Simkin A., Leichter I., Bivas A., Steinberg R., Giladi M., Stein M., Kashtan H., Milgrom C. Effect of intense physical activity on the bone-mineral content in the lower limbs of young adults. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1986 Sep;68(7):1090–1093. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Nguyen T., Sambrook P., Kelly P., Jones G., Lord S., Freund J., Eisman J. Prediction of osteoporotic fractures by postural instability and bone density. BMJ. 1993 Oct 30;307(6912):1111–1115. doi: 10.1136/bmj.307.6912.1111. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Orwoll E. S., Ferar J., Oviatt S. K., McClung M. R., Huntington K. The relationship of swimming exercise to bone mass in men and women. Arch Intern Med. 1989 Oct;149(10):2197–2200. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Risser W. L., Lee E. J., LeBlanc A., Poindexter H. B., Risser J. M., Schneider V. Bone density in eumenorrheic female college athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1990 Oct;22(5):570–574. doi: 10.1249/00005768-199010000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ross P. D., Ettinger B., Davis J. W., Melton L. J., 3rd, Wasnich R. D. Evaluation of adverse health outcomes associated with vertebral fractures. Osteoporos Int. 1991 Jun;1(3):134–140. doi: 10.1007/BF01625442. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Sinaki M., Wahner H. W., Offord K. P., Hodgson S. F. Efficacy of nonloading exercises in prevention of vertebral bone loss in postmenopausal women: a controlled trial. Mayo Clin Proc. 1989 Jul;64(7):762–769. doi: 10.1016/s0025-6196(12)61748-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Sports Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES