Nearly two million men in the United States have osteoporosis, a condition that makes bones weak and prone to breakage, and 16 million more have low bone mass. A study suggests that certain weightlifting exercises might increase bone mass, reports futurity.org. “Weightlifting programmes increase muscular strength,” says Pam Hinton, associate professor and director of nutritional sciences graduate studies in the nutrition and exercise physiology department at University of Missouri. “Our study is the first to show that exercise-based interventions work to increase bone density in middle-aged men with low bone mass who are otherwise healthy.”
Significant improvement: For the new study, published in the journal Bone, researchers looked at 38 middle-aged men who completed either a weight-lifting programme or a jumping programme for a year. Both programmes required participants to complete 60-120 minutes of targeted exercises each week. The participants took calcium and vitamin D supplements throughout their training programmes. Bone mass was measured at the beginning of the study and again at six and 12 months using specialised X-ray scans of the whole body, hip, and lumbar spine. Bone mass of the whole body and lumbar spine increased after six months of completing the weight-lifting or jumping programmes, and this increase was maintained at 12 months. Hip-bone density only increased among those who completed the weightlifting program.
Squats, deadlifts, and lunges: The study results do not indicate that all kinds of weightlifting will help improve bone mass; rather, targeted exercises made the training programs effective. “Only the bone experiencing the mechanical load is going to get stronger, so we specifically chose exercises that would load the hip and the spine, which is why we had participants do squats, deadlifts, lunges, and the overhead press,” Hinton says, adding, “The intensity of the loading needs to increase over time to build strength. Also, bones need to rest to continue to maximise the response.”
Declining pain: The participants reported minimal pain and fatigue, and these ratings decreased over the year. Individuals who want to use similar training programmes to improve bone density should consider their current activity levels and exercise preferences as well as time and equipment constraints.
Source: www.futurity.org
