Abstract
This study examined potential exercise-induced changes in sclerostin and in bone turnover markers in young women following two modes of high intensity interval exercise that involve impact (running) or no-impact (cycling). Healthy, recreationally active, females (n=20; 22.5±2.7 years) performed two exercise trials in random order: high intensity interval running (HIIR) on a treadmill and high intensity interval cycling (HIIC) on a cycle ergometer. Trials consisted of eight 1 min running or cycling intervals at ≥90% of maximal heart rate, separated by 1 min passive recovery intervals. Blood samples were collected at rest (pre-exercise) and 5 min, 1h, 24h, and 48h following each exercise trial. Serum was analyzed for sclerostin, cross linked telopeptide of type I collagen (CTXI), and procollagen type I amino-terminal propeptide (PINP). A significant time effect was found for sclerostin, which increased from pre-exercise to 5 min after exercise in both trials (100.2 to 131.6 pg/ml in HIIR; 102.3 to 135.8 pg/ml in HIIC, p<0.001) and returned to baseline levels by 1h, with no difference between exercise modes and no exercise mode-by-time interaction. CTXI did not significantly change following either trial. PINP showed an overall time effect following HIIR, but none of the post hoc pairwise comparisons were statistically significant. In young women, a single bout of high intensity exercise induces an increase in serum sclerostin, irrespective of exercise mode (impact versus no-impact), but this response is not accompanied by a response in either bone formation or resorption markers.
Highlights
High-impact exercise such as running exerts larger mechanical loading on the skeleton compared to low- and no-impact exercise such as cycling [1]
There were no differences at baseline between the two exercise trials in any of the other biomarkers
There was no significant difference in sclerostin levels between high intensity interval running (HIIR) and high intensity interval cycling (HIIC) at any time point
Summary
High-impact exercise such as running exerts larger mechanical loading on the skeleton compared to low- and no-impact exercise such as cycling [1]. Numerous studies have reported higher bone mineral density in athletes of high-impact activities (e.g., gymnastics, basketball) than athletes of low- or no-impact activities (e.g., swimming, cycling) [2, 3]. It is less clear whether low-impact exercise imparts sufficient strain in the bone to stimulate any beneficial effect. This is essential information in designing interventions for people who need osteogenic activities but cannot tolerate the impact of ground reaction forces (e.g., individuals with osteoporosis) and those who choose not to engage in high-impact exercise
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