Author: Benedetti MG1, Furlini G1, Zati A1, Letizia Mauro G2
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, IRCCS-Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
<sup>2</sup>Rehabilitation Unit, Paolo Giaccone Hospital, Palermo, Italy.
Conference/Journal: Biomed Res Int.
Date published: 2018 Dec 23
Other:
Volume ID: 2018 , Pages: 4840531 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1155/2018/4840531. eCollection 2018. , Word Count: 309
Physical exercise is considered an effective means to stimulate bone osteogenesis in osteoporotic patients. The authors reviewed the current literature to define the most appropriate features of exercise for increasing bone density in osteoporotic patients. Two types emerged: (1) weight-bearing aerobic exercises, i.e., walking, stair climbing, jogging, and Tai Chi. Walking alone did not appear to improve bone mass; however it is able to limit its progressive loss. In fact, in order for the weight-bearing exercises to be effective, they must reach the mechanical intensity useful to determine an important ground reaction force. (2) Strength and resistance exercises: these are carried out with loading (lifting weights) or without (swimming, cycling). For this type of exercise to be effective a joint reaction force superior to common daily activity with sensitive muscle strengthening must be determined. These exercises appear extremely site-specific, able to increase muscle mass and BMD only in the stimulated body regions. Other suggested protocols are multicomponent exercises and whole body vibration. Multicomponent exercises consist of a combination of different methods (aerobics, strengthening, progressive resistance, balancing, and dancing) aimed at increasing or preserving bone mass. These exercises seem particularly indicated in deteriorating elderly patients, often not able to perform exercises of pure reinforcement. However, for these protocols to be effective they must always contain a proportion of strengthening and resistance exercises. Given the variability of the protocols and outcome measures, the results of these methods are difficult to quantify. Training with whole body vibration (WBV): these exercises are performed with dedicated devices, and while it seems they have effect on enhancing muscle strength, controversial findings on improvement of BMD were reported. WBV seems to provide good results, especially in improving balance and reducing the risk of falling; in this, WBV appears more efficient than simply walking. Nevertheless, contraindications typical of senility should be taken into account.
PMID: 30671455 PMCID: PMC6323511 DOI: 10.1155/2018/4840531