Effects of High-Intensity Aquatic Exercises on Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women with and without Vertebral Fractures

Abstract

This prospective controlled study evaluated the efficacy of a high-intensity aquatic exercise program on the safety of vertebral parameters, anthropometry and physical fitness of 108 non exercising postmenopausal women with and without fractures. Participants were divided into intervention group (IG=64) and control group (DG=44) assessed in a first evaluation and after 24 weeks of intervention, data about bone densitometry, morpheme try(fractures), anthropometry, physical fitness, number of falls and pain perception. IG with fractures after training showed better results than CG with fractures for bone mineral density and t-score of the femoral head(p <0.05). Following protocol, IG without fractures showed better results than CG without fractures in flexibility tests, spine extension strength, hip flexor strength, left and right handgrip strength, and decrease in the number of fall sand pain perception (p <0.05). IG without fractures also obtained better results for right handgrip strength and decreased pain perception in comparison to CG with fractures. High-intensity aquatic exercises contribute to decrease pain and number of falls, improve physical fitness, and increase bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with and without vertebral fractures, with better performance in relation to group not submitted to exercises for the parameters studied.