Effects of Strength Training on Bone Mineral Density in Adult Women: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Title: Effects of Strength Training on Bone Mineral in Adult Women – A Systematic Review 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. Subjects: This systematic review of literature included 17 published studies that met our inclusion criteria. In total, 1210 adult women participated in those articles and were studied in our final included studies. Methods Electronic databases used were PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), CINAHL, Web of Science Search and Scopus. Key words included osteoporosis, bone mineral density, and strength. 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, 17 studies were considered to meet all of the required inclusion criteria. Data Analysis This is a systematic review study. Quality of the included studies was rated using the Centre of Evidence-Based Medicine: Levels of Evidence and the PEDro scale. Results In total, 17 research studies were examined and met our inclusion criteria. All of the included studies were randomized controlled trials. Across all 17 studies, 1210 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 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 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. Relevance: 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.