Finding the Optimal Resistance Training Intensity For Your Bones

Summary

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that can result in fractures, disability and an increased risk of premature death. Exercise is recommended for fall and fracture prevention, but health care professionals often recommend walking or lower intensity community exercise classes, which may not be effective for building bone. Further, individuals with osteoporosis are often told to avoid lifting or moving in certain ways, which creates fear and activity avoidance. Conversely, research suggests that to stimulate bone, you need higher loads on bone, with either higher intensity resistance training or impact exercise - the types of things people with low bone mass are told to avoid. Our study will examine different types of exercise intensity and how they translate to building bone in people with low bone mineral density (BMD).

Conditions

• Osteoporosis
• Osteopenia

Interventions

OTHER

Supervised strength training (group 1)

Participants in this arm will complete twice weekly resistance training. They will focus on form initially, and then be progressed to 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions at an intensity of \~70% of estimated 1 repetition maximum.

OTHER

Supervised strength training (group 2)

Participants in this arm will complete twice weekly resistance training. They will focus on form initially, and then be progressed to 3 sets of \~4-6 repetitions at an intensity of 85% of estimated one repetition maximum, with a warm-up set of 8 repetitions at their estimated 70% estimated one repetition maximum to attempt to match the volume performed in the other resistance training group.

OTHER

Home exercise

Participants in this arm will complete twice-weekly upper and lower body exercises at home, focused on posture and balance. Participants will meet 1:1 with an exercise physiologist who will select and prescribe exercises. Participants will also be invited to attend twice monthly virtual exercise and education sessions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University of Saskatchewan

  collaborator OTHER

• University Health Network, Toronto

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Waterloo

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lora Giangregorio, PhD · University of Waterloo

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-09-13

Primary Completion

2026-09-30

Completion

2026-09-30

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations