Mixed exercise led on some tests in older women with low bone density
Walking speed rose 7.1% with combined strength, balance and weight-bearing exercise versus 3.2% with OsteoStrong over nine months.
Our read
Interventions- Studied:
- Randomized trial in 194 older women with osteopenia or osteoporosis, nine months, against OsteoStrong (Blinded, sample size calculated, registered NCT05721014)
- What changed:
- Walking speed improved more with mixed exercise (+ 7.1%) than with OsteoStrong (+3.2%)
- The catch:
- Physical therapists knew group assignments when assessing follow-up performance
- Stake:
- Bonetrigger funded the study.
- In the record:
- One of 3 papers on dynamic multicomponent exercise on record: 2 with results in people.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Postmenopausal women aged 65–79 with low bone density—194 in total—took part in a randomized trial in Stockholm. For nine months, they attended either weekly 20-minute OsteoStrong sessions or twice-weekly 60-minute sessions combining strength, balance and weight-bearing exercise. OsteoStrong involved pressing or pulling against machines without moving, plus balance exercises on vibrating platforms.
Both groups improved grip and back strength, endurance when holding a partial sit-up, walking speed and chair-rise performance. The combined-exercise group gained more walking speed over 30 meters and back muscle endurance. Back endurance rose 27.6%, versus 4.4% with OsteoStrong. One-leg standing time increased 13.1% on the right and 13.3% on the left, versus declines of 2.1% and 2.4%, respectively. The remaining outcomes showed no statistically significant differences between groups.
Why it matters
For older women with low bone density, evaluating exercise means considering everyday physical function as well as bone strength.
Caveats
Physical function measures were exploratory secondary outcomes, and the analysis did not account for testing many outcomes. The programs differed in session length and frequency, and participants were postmenopausal women aged 65–79, most already physically active.
From the paper
- Participants
A total of 194 women, with a median age of 70 years, were randomly assigned to either the OS group (n = 97) or the DME group (n = 97).
- Result
At follow-up, the ITT analysis revealed a significantly higher increase in isometric trunk extension for the DME group compared to the OS group (+ 27.6% vs. +4.4%; 95% CI: 118–150 vs. 87–119 s; p = 0.007).
- Events by group
Additionally, both groups showed significant improvements in gait speed, with a significant between-group difference favoring the DME group (DME + 7.1% vs. OS + 3.2%; 95% CI: 1.87–1.98 vs. 1.73–1.85 m per second; p = 0.001).
- Limitation
One limitation is the absence of a formal power calculation, as the analyzed outcomes were secondary endpoints from a previously conducted randomized controlled trial.
Quoted word for word from the full text on PubMed Central.
The paper
Karolinska Institutet
Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, Jul 5, 2026, Open access
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