Author(s): MANIMMANAKORN, A., TANTANASEST, J., MANIMMANAKORN, N., HAMLIN, M.J., Institution: KHON KAEN UNIVERSITY, Country: THAILAND, Abstract-ID: 999

INTRODUCTION:
Older adults suffer from degenerative physiological changes including musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoporosis, osteopenia, and sarcopenia. Several studies have reported that a reduction of muscle strength and muscle mass lead to a high prevalence of low bone mineral density (BMD) osteopenia and osteoporosis. Resistance exercise training is recommended as an effective way to stimulate bone osteogenesis in osteoporosis patients. Other forms of exercise that stress the osteogenic pathways may also prove useful in such patients including aerobic training with whole body vibration or aerobic training with weighted vests. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of light aerobic exercise supplemented with weighted vest or whole-body vibration on BMD and skeletal muscle mass in osteopenic or osteoporotic older females.
METHODS:
This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 31 osteopenia/osteoporosis females (T-score -2.15±0.9, mean ± SD) aged 60 to 79 years. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups. The control group (CON; n=10) received 40 minutes of light aerobic exercise3 days per week for 8 weeks, whereas the weighted vest group (WV; n=11) completed the same aerobic exercise program wearing a vest filled with sand equivalent to 5% (first 2 weeks) then 10% (last 6 weeks) of their body weights. The whole-body vibration group (WBV; n=10) completed the same aerobic exercise programme supplemented with vibration exercise (30 Hz., 1 min x 8 sets) he BMD, muscle mass and percent body fat of participants were assessed before and after the 8 weeks training.
RESULTS:
We found a significant decrease in BMD over the course of the study in the CON group (pre = 956 ± 58, post = 941 ± 57 mg/cm2, p<0.05, mean ± SD) but no substantial BMD changes in WV and WBV groups. Only the WV participants showed a significant increase in leg lean mass (pre = 11.69 ± 1.59, post = 12.82 ± 2.13 kg, P< 0.05). Like the BMD changes, skeletal mass index (SMD) showed a significant reduction (pre = 6.38 ± 0.6, post=6.22 ± 0.7 kg/m2, p<0.05) only in CON participants, with unchanged SMD in the WV and WBV groups (p>0.05). Furthermore, compared to the pre-test, only participants in the WV (92.95 ± 36.80 m) and WBV (57.80 ± 41.18 m) groups substantial improved their aerobic performance in the 6-min walk test.
CONCLUSION:
The addition of a weighted vest or whole-body vibration training to light aerobic exercise may protect against bone mineral loss in older female participants. This may be a practical therapeutic exercise for osteopenic or osteoporotic individuals.