Bone Growth

In a study conducted at The Osteoporosis Prevention & Treatment Center in Santa Monica, California, osteoporosis patients who exercised with an isometric-resistive exercise ball for 10 minutes a day began to form new bone within 2 months.

The implications of these findings are enormous for the 28 million Americans, mostly women, who are affected by osteoporosis. If left untreated, osteoporosis can be a crippling, painful disease. More than two in 10 women who fracture their hips as a result of osteoporosis die within a year.

Researchers concluded that the "ideal" osteoporosis exercise tool is a partially inflated vinyl ball with handles. Deceptively simple, the exercises are isometric-resistive contractions that are held for five seconds. They are done by pushing or pulling on the ball and can be completed in less than 10 minutes a day.

Exercise is essential in osteoporosis treatment for preventing bone fractures. However, casual walking or strolling is still the prevalent medical exercise prescription for osteoporosis, even though extensive research has shown it is ineffective in building new bone density.

Lead researcher Dr. Robert L. Swezey, M.D., a clinical professor of medicine at UCLA specializing in physical medicine and rheumatology, was aware that new bone formation occurs from the tension of muscles contracting where they attach to bone. However, would it work on women whose bones were already thinning? Dr. Swezey decided to test his hypothesis that women with osteoporosis doing isometric-resistive exercises for durations of just a few seconds could rapidly stimulate new bone formation while simultaneously strengthening muscles.

"From our pilot study, we knew we needed an exercise program that could be done quickly--and at home. Ideally, we needed an exercise program targeting all the osteoporosis-affected areas of the body," recalls Dr. Swezey.

The women in the study increased their levels of bone formation to a statistically significant level. (The study participants' tested levels of increased bone alkaline phosphatase were significant at p [is less than] .05).

"We have statistically significant bone formation occurring in these women in just 2 months, which verifies our hypothesis. It is heartening news for the millions who suffer from osteoporosis," says Dr. Swezey. "This research [demonstrates] there is an effective, simple, quick method of exercising to build bone and muscle."

For more information, visit the Journal of Rheumatology Web site at www.jrheum.com/abstracts/abstracts00/1260.html