A study published in the professional journal Journal of Bone and mineral research, indicates that doing regular exercises that have an impact on the hip (such as small jumps on one foot, for example) can help counteract bone aging.
Researchers asked 34 men over the age of 65 to jump on one leg for two minutes a day for a year. They always had to jump on the same leg so that the other served as a reference for the measurements. They thus showed that the bone mass had increased by more than 7% in the hip which was mobilized by the jumps. These results were shown in several parts of the hip, including the thinnest areas, which are more at risk of fracture in the event of a fall.
“Hip fractures are a major public health issue in older people. We know that exercising can improve bone strength. The participants in this study were therefore taught to do small jumping exercises with movement variations, so that the hip bone was stressed and deformed in different directions,” explains Dr Sarah Allison of the National Center for Sport and Medicine in Loughborough (Great Britain).
The measurements, made using new techniques derived from CT scans, showed clear differences between the hips that were exercising and those that weren’t. However, this study only included men. Dr. Allison cannot say at this time that the results would be the same in women.
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