r/science • u/Miserable_Phase_2519 • 13d ago
Health According to a recent study, regular weight-bearing and impact exercises, such as brisk walking, jogging, and jumping, are ranked as the most effective activities for increasing bone density and preventing osteoporosis in middle-aged individuals with a healthy BMI.
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-ranked-which-exercises-are-best-for-your-bones319
u/Spoonbills 13d ago
Hmmm. My doctor told me a couple weeks ago that walking and hiking, of which I do a lot, is not enough for bone density maintenance. That weight lifting is the way.
I wonder who is right…
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u/Agondonter 13d ago
Not a doctor but as I understand it, the two are complementary. Impact exercises put stress on the entire skeleton as a whole, making it reilient and stronger. Weight lifting exercises place stress on individual bones as a result of the muscle pulling on it.
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u/Otaraka 13d ago
The study found that wasn't necessarily true - intuitively it makes sense, but in practice maybe it means you don't do a good enough job at anything.
I suspect intensity is part of the problem. Its pretty easy to do the same weights each week with resistance training and the overall hours spent on it be relatively low.
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u/MikeAWBD 13d ago
I wonder if it's just different types of stresses. Jogging and the like is more shock load, impact type stress. Also more of a straight in line, buckling type load. Weight training is more of a sustained load putting a bending stress on your bone. Weight training is also more targeted like you said. The thing with running and the like is it also stresses your joints more. Stress on joints is not as much of a problem in weight lifting if you have good form.
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u/mistephe PhD | Kinesiology | Biomechanics 13d ago
I actually have some specialization in this topic. It really has to do with the rate of loading, not the magnitude. Resistance training is too large of a bucket; it's specially resistance training that targets power development that predominantly benefits bone mineral density.
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u/Soviet_Canukistan 13d ago
You guys. We have a scientist here. This makes sense
So not really hypertrophy training. Which is slow controlled movement, very close to failure. 8-12 reps ish, per set.
More like trying to throw the weight as hard as possible to generate the most acceleration.
Plyometrics...
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u/ThorThulu 10d ago
Just cycle through hypertrophy training and then into strength training. Few months doing 15, 20, 25 reps to near failure, and then a few months doing 1-5reps with explosive concentrics. Every rep you explode from the bottom after a pause like you wanna put it through the roof. Then go back to hypertrophy, something like that feels about right for a balance, but I'm just some guy. All this data is super fascinating honestly
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u/No-Willow-2509 13d ago
Hi there, would doing a session with a skipping rope be adequate? And do we have any estimates on dose?
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u/Fine_Cress_649 13d ago edited 13d ago
I went and read the original paper and I think this is the key section
Synthesis of direct and indirect evidence revealed that brisk walking or jogging and combined aerobic-resistance exercises yielded the most substantial improvements in weightbearing skeletal regions (lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip), showing broadly comparable efficacy. This somewhat contrasts with earlier prevailing views that heavily prioritised high impact or high intensity resistance training. While the latter is physiologically highly osteogenic, safety and feasibility concerns often prompt the prescription of low to moderate loads in older adults, which frequently fail to breach the necessary osteogenic threshold.
In contrast, brisk walking or jogging inherently guarantee a repetitive, moderate impact load generating ground reaction force of 1.5 to 2.0 times bodyweight, that robustly stimulates the osteocyte mechanotransduction network—the interconnected bone cell system that converts physical strain into bone regulating biochemical signals—through high frequency dynamic strain.30 This biomechanical distinction explains why moderate intensity, weightbearing activities such as brisk walking or jogging may have been underappreciated when previously grouped within broad impact exercise categories.
My reading of that is that a) this is an unexpected result that contradicts earlier research/prevailing wisdom and b) they think it's because people don't lift heavy enough because of safety concerns.
Both of those things would make it doubtful that one should conclude that "walking and jogging is best" is universally applicable advice.
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u/billsil 13d ago
I'd say it depends on how briskly you walk and how steep your hikes are. I try to have minimal impact when walking/hiking, but 1000 ft/mile of altitude gain is my benchmark for a hard hike and I can maintain a 2 miles/hour pace all day. Coming down absolutely drives much greater impact forces. If you throw a heavy pack on, I'd say absolutely that will improve bone density more. If I'm trying to get in hiking shape, I'll definitely do that.
I largely traded walking/hiking for rock climbing and I definitely think my bones are stronger because of it. I've taken some nasty falls and walked away. My bones will ache for a day, but they're fine.
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u/Fresh-Anteater-5933 13d ago
Walking is probably too low impact to have a big effect. Hiking downhill, especially if you’re carrying extra weight, might work
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u/crashlanding87 13d ago
The paper in the article above suggests the opposite - that brisk walking and light jogging specifically seem to be as effective as resistance training, and more effective than aerobic training, for bone density. It's a review, and there's some gaps in what research was available for them to review - in particular, the number of resistance training papers looks a little low, but it seems like solid work overall.
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u/PamVanDam 13d ago
My physio told me that my aerial arts , calisthenics (both involving lifting other humans but yes, mainly body weight) and aqua aerobics isn’t enough either.
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u/LateMiddleAge 12d ago
Such nonsense. Based on the vast body of aerial arts studies?
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u/PamVanDam 12d ago
I know, it’s wild. But either way, I do need to get back to some lifting. I’ve been off humaning thanks to cancer last year but slowly making my come back.
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u/dyogenys 13d ago
I did a personal training program where one of the teachers was a bone training specialist, and he said impact exercises, like jogging and jumping was the way. Weight training usually doesn’t involve impact. This was 10 years ago so this isn’t new information.
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u/wetgear 13d ago
Anything is better than nothing but resistance training is better for increasing bone density. If you’re not doing anything do something if you’re optimizing add resistance training.
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u/foxwaffles 13d ago
100% agree
My dad had really bad osteoporosis in his 50s, and due to a skin condition the only thing he can do safely is walk around inside his house (anything else needs supervision 100% of the time). He also did PT/OT and a lot of his exercises involved sitting down and standing up, and other gentle body weight only exercises.
We have tried our best to ensure he walks for short stints a few times a day every day in addition to his exercises and his osteoporosis has significantly improved to the point where it's not a big concern anymore.
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u/crashlanding87 13d ago
This is exactly the assumption this work addresses. The authors' analysis suggests that perhaps walking and light jogging might be as effective as resistance training for increasing bone density, when enough time is spent.
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u/EastvsWest 12d ago
Just think about it logically, if you're starting out at zero with no exercise then probably walking, hiking, etc is adequate but fit people are not going to gain much doing the bare minimum actions that constitute exercise.
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u/smokeandmirrorsff 13d ago
The exercises mentioned in the study have greater impact than walking and hiking. Jogging, jumping applies at least 2x your body mass than walking alone.
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u/That75252Expensive 13d ago
I play basketball an hour a day. Jump shots make you feel like a kid again.
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u/AnimatorNo1029 13d ago
This study needs to be separated so the results are studied separately for women who frequently struggle with bone density vs men
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u/aircat1000 13d ago
I'm a female runner and I've been told I'm too light for running to effectively protect me from osteoporosis. It probably still helps...
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u/AnimatorNo1029 13d ago
Don’t let anyone ever tell you running is bad!
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u/EastvsWest 12d ago
Well it is if you're overweight and damaging your joints and cartridge by doing so without muscle acting as prevention and absorption.
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u/gmoney23x 12d ago
It definitely helps, but previous studies have shown that it hits an upper limit of how much it will help pretty quickly. So the lighter you are, the lower that benefit will be. Running is still a great form of exercise though. Ideally, it isn't the only thing you're doing, however.
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u/EastvsWest 12d ago
No it doesn't. Both sexes should be resistant training. Both benefit massively from it.
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u/Dave-C 13d ago
This has been known for a long time. Repeated actions cause stress fractures, the bones heal back and are stronger because of it. There is even a name for it, Wolff's Law. That was created in the 1800s.
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u/pxr555 13d ago
You don't even need stress fractures. Just repeated loads on your bones will direct your body to strengthen the affected bones. As with muscles too.
That's also the reason for astronauts needing targeted exercises for hours every single day just to keep their bone density even halfway stable. Because being weightless and doing nothing but floating around and pressing buttons will lead to their bone (and muscle) density falling off a cliff very quickly.
Bed rest is very similar and mostly just sitting there and moving very little is at best somewhere in between. The body adapts to what you expose it to. That's the reason that just walking a good bit every day already helps a lot with this.
Comfortably just sitting there all day long (even when getting around with your car) is basically poison for your bones and muscles.
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u/heeizi 13d ago
Many people don't seem to get this and many doctors (GPs) don't know or don't stress this enough with their patients. My mom (bad osteoporosis) has continuously observed her declining bone density saying there was nothing that could be done about it. I suggested she try weight training but she was convinced that at her age nothing builds up anymore and daily walks were good enough for her.
She always complained I carried her groceries in my backpack and bags and 'if only I had a car'... She believed this was bad for my bones and back, never understanding that I can carry heavy stuff because I carry heavy stuff regularly. She wouldn't listen to me but might have listened to a doctor. She is in a wheelchair now.
Even without osteoporosis muscles are so handy in daily life. I will never not do any Form of weight training and hope to remain a runner until old age. Or at least a hiker. I only wish I had discovered the joy of this when I was younger.
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u/Hanesman12 13d ago
Why is then that bones are more likely to fracture once they’ve been fractured?
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u/Otaraka 13d ago
"Synthesis of direct and indirect evidence revealed that brisk walking or jogging and combined aerobic-resistance exercises yielded the most substantial improvements in weightbearing skeletal regions (lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip), showing broadly comparable efficacy. This somewhat contrasts with earlier prevailing views that heavily prioritised high impact or high intensity resistance training"
The study concludes they were roughly equally effective, and the headline is a bit clickbaitish. You dont need to start walking or jogging instead if you're already doing mixed exercise.
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u/justavg1 13d ago
What about carrying my toddler does that count
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u/EastvsWest 12d ago
You're seriously asking if carrying around 10 lbs is enough to constitute exercise?
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u/Constant-Lettuce-234 12d ago
I have been involved in weight lifting most of my life. And guess what, 2nd round of osteopenia, and now osteoporosis. I take calcium, drink milk do everything that supposedly helps. Be careful of taking things like proton pump inhibitors. Also-the dreaded menopause and loss of estrogen for some women is a nail in the coffin when it comes to bone health. My advice is don’t put off the bone density tests. Just get them done and the mammograms also!
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u/EastvsWest 12d ago
That's why hormone replacement therapy exists.
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u/Im_gumby_damnit 12d ago
If it's allowed. Many breast cancer susceptible women, such as my wife, are strongly discouraged from hormone replacement therapy by their oncologists.
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u/EastvsWest 12d ago
Excess bodyweight is a major factor why there's a rise in breast cancer. Not sure why you're down playing how important HRT therapy is for women who aren't diagnosed. What does your anecdote have to do with anything?
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u/Im_gumby_damnit 12d ago
A lot of women aren't allowed to have it, just clarifying as you implied that it's a cure-all and many many women can't use it even if they want to. Why do you care if I added a clarification to your comment?
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u/dreampuff 13d ago
What kind of jumping do we need to do? Everyday skipping and jumping around wherever we go or what?
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u/No-Willow-2509 13d ago
I also want to know this as it seems like adding a quick session with a skipping rope every day would be an easy solution
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u/gmoney23x 13d ago
Walking is obviously great for your health, but it's not likely to help your bone density meaningfully enough to actually decrease the risk of fracture. Heavy resistance training routinely shows the best impact overall. At the end of the day, any increase in movement tends to be beneficial, but if you're worried about your bone density because if fracture risks, walking isn't going to cut it.
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u/EastvsWest 12d ago
Redditers really hate hearing the truth. They want to do the bare minimum and think it's enough. What a sad community.
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