A high-intensity jump-based aquatic exercise program improves bone mineral density and functional fitness in postmenopausal women
Rejuvenation Research, Published Online:11 Jun 2018
Abstract
The aim of this study was to verify the effects of a high-intensity jump-based aquatic exercise program (HIIAE) on bone mass and functional fitness of postmenopausal women. Methods: We randomly assigned 20 women (65 ± 7 years) into two groups: Training (T, n=12) and Untrained (Un, n=8). Only the T group was submitted to 24 weeks of a HIIAE program, where each session lasted for 30 minutes. The following parameters were assessed before and 6 months following the intervention: bone and physical fitness; lumbar spine (LS) , total femur (TF) and whole body (WB) bone mineral density (BMD); as well as agility (Timed up-and-go, TUG), and leg strength (chair stand test, CS) Results: We observed a significant increase (p<0,01) in LS, (Un: -0.88 ± 3.55, T: 3.71 ± 3.68; %), TF (Un: -1.38 ± 17.76, T: 6.52 ± 2.71; %) and WB (Un: 2.09 ± 3.17, T: 3.23 ± 4.18) BMD in the T group. Regarding functional fitness, the T group showed improvements in both TUG (before: 6.86 ± 1.24 versus after: 6.22 ± 1.13 seconds, p< 0.05) and CS (before: 16 ± 4 versus after: 19 ± 5 repetitions, p> 0.05) tests when compared to the U group’s TUG (Before: 5 ± 1, after: 6 ± 1 seconds; p< 0.05) and CS (Before: 20 ± 2, After: 19 ± 2 repetitions; p> 0.05) scores. Conclusion: Our data suggest that a high-intensity, jump-based interval aquatic exercise program is able to improve bone mineral density and functional fitness parameters in postmenopausal women.