Men's Osteoporosis Support GroupHopping/jumping or adding weight when exercising and bone mineral density (BMD) Bone. 2010 Apr;46(4):1043-9. Epub 2010 Jan 6. Optimum frequency of exercise for bone health: randomised controlled trial of a high-impact unilateral intervention. Bailey CA, Brooke-Wavell K. PMID: 20004758. This study done in the U.K. tested the effectiveness of a unilateral hopping exercise of 50 multi-directional hops for 1, 2, 4, or 7 days per week for six months in 61 women who were an average of 33.6 years old. This allowed use of the non-exercised hip as the control when compared to the exercised hip. The results showed that 7 days per week significantly improved BMD in the femoral neck when the hopping was high enough to increase body weight from 2.5 to 2.8 times. There was no effect from any number of days of exercise fewer than seven. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2000 Sep;55(9):M489-91. Long-term exercise using weighted vests prevents hip bone loss in postmenopausal women. Snow CM and others. PMID: 10995045. This study on postmenopausal women, average age 61.4 years, that lasted nine months, involved three times per week for 32 weeks per year doing jumping exercise while wearing a weighted vest over a five-year period. The results for exercisers showed, ". . . changes in BMD were + 1.54% +/- 2.37%, -0.24% +/- 1.02%, and -0.82% +/- 1.04% (means + SE) at the femoral neck, trochanter, and total hip, respectively; controls decreased at all sites (-4.43% +/- 0.93%. 3.43% +/- 1.09%, and -3.80% +/- 1.03%, respectively)." [Note: there is a mistake in the PubMed abstract. In the control trochanter results it states "3.43% +/- 1.09%" This should be "-3.43% +/- 1.09%."] The authors concluded, "A 5-year program of weighted vest plus jumping exercise maintains hip BMD by preventing significant bone loss in older postmenopausal women. Furthermore, this particular program appears to promote long-term adherence and compliance, as evidenced by the commitment of the exercisers for more than 5 years." Editor's comments: We are always told that weight-bearing exercise is what improves BMD. So anything that increases the weight while exercising should have benefits for BMD. In these studies they made efforts to increase the weight during the exercise either by hopping or jumping, and, in the second study, by using a weighted vest. Note that in the Snow and others study it wasn't so much that the exercises increased their BMD, they just didn't lose nearly so much as the controls did. Many additional studies could be done to demonstrate ways to maximize the results even more. The Snow and others study exercise group only exercised for 32 of 52 weeks per year. What if they had exercised all year long? I assume the results would have been better, hopefully future research will demonstrate this. What is the maximum hopping/jumping height that will increase hip BMD but not, for example, result in knee damage? Could you get a similar effect by just wearing a weighted vest and walking for long distances? This study, Biol Res Nurs. 2003 Jan;4(3):171-80. Effects of exercise on bone density, balance, and self-efficacy in older women. Jessup JV and others. PMID: 12585781, with women mean age 69.2 years, showed significant improvements in BMD of the femoral neck while improving balance when using a weighted vest when walking and doing other exercises to improve strength and balance. It involved only nine women though. Perhaps jumping rope would be a good way to get the desired effect from this. One could imagine that doing so, or jumping without a rope, would also improve balance, thus decreasing the risk of falls which could cause fractures. Although these studies involved only women, the results would assuredly also apply to men. The bottom line is that it appears hip BMD will improve if you increase your weight during exercise several days per week--ideally seven days. This can be done either by wearing a weighted vest, or similar attire, or by hopping or jumping to approximately double your weight's effect, or some combination of both.
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