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Scientists Have Ranked Which Exercises Are Best For Your Bones
Confirmed
In Short: A new study analyzed 139 clinical trials to determine which exercises are most beneficial for bone health.
Researchers have identified the best exercises for bone health, according to a study published in Blood, which analyzed evidence from 139 clinical trials involving nearly 10,000 people.
The study found that resistance training, yoga, and walking can significantly impact bone health, with around 600 METs minutes per week being the threshold where exercise starts to make a difference.
MET minutes per week measure energy burn and exercise intensity, and the equivalent of 2–3 hours of brisk walking or jogging is needed to see benefits.
While mixed aerobic exercise and mind-body exercises showed some association with reduced risk of bone fractures, the data was less clear-cut.
The IT band plays a crucial role in stabilizing the hips and knees, especially during high-impact exercises like running or jumping.
Feeling pain in the hips and knees or along the IT band can be triggered by a tight IT band.
Knee braces ranked highly across several important measures in the study.
What's confirmed
- Researchers have identified the best exercises for bone health, according to a study published in Blood, which analyzed evidence from 139 clinical trials involving nearly 10,000 people.
- The study found that resistance training, yoga, and walking can significantly impact bone health, with around 600 METs minutes per week being the threshold where exercise starts to make a difference.
- MET minutes per week measure energy burn and exercise intensity, and the equivalent of 2–3 hours of brisk walking or jogging is needed to see benefits.
- While mixed aerobic exercise and mind-body exercises showed some association with reduced risk of bone fractures, the data was less clear-cut.
- The IT band plays a crucial role in stabilizing the hips and knees, especially during high-impact exercises like running or jumping.
- Feeling pain in the hips and knees or along the IT band can be triggered by a tight IT band.
- Knee braces ranked highly across several important measures in the study.
What's still developing
- It could also be something called IT band syndrome (ITBS), which is when connective tissue rubs against the thighbone, which can cause pain along the IT band or the hips and knees.
- “When you lack hip extension, it’s harder for your glutes to engage. You start to push more weight to the outside of your leg to compensate. The IT band and calves get tight, and your whole leg mechanics change,” says Brian Gurney, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., a physical therapist and board-certified sports clinical specialist at BeFit Therapy in New York City.
- And since stretching helps you stay flexible and mobile, here’s one more stretching workout to add to your list if you’re experiencing hip or knee pain: iliotibial (IT) band stretches.
- It’s a thick cord of connective tissue that runs down the outside of your thighs from your hip to your knee.
- “When you have issues, you can feel it in your hip, your knee, or along the IT band itself,” explains Albert Matheny, R.D., C.S.C.S., co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab.
- Exercise is good for you – that much we can all agree on – but which exercises work best for which types of benefit?
- While it's well established that exercise can help strengthen bones, the researchers wanted to see which type of exercise might work best, and how much of it was needed.
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- In a study published today in Blood, scientists identified 3,775 proteins in ultra-pure mature human red blood cells – more than triple the estimates from just 15 years ago - and mapped thousands of physical interactions among them, revealing a surprisingly dynamic network that adapts quickly when oxygen levels fall.
- The researchers have made their detailed red blood cell protein database, called Deep Red, publicly available to help other scientists investigate these mechanisms.