Journal of Osteoporosis and Physical Activity
Open Access

Abstract

Axial Bone Osteogenic Loading-Type Resistance Therapy Showing BMD and Functional Bone Performance Musculoskeletal Adaptation Over 24 Weeks with Postmenopausal Female Subjects

Bazil Hunte, John Jaquish, Corey Huck

Objective: To determine the efficacy of osteogenic loading (OL) specific therapy for bone mass density (BMD) and musculoskeletal bone performance adaptations in both osteopenic and osteoporotic postmenopausal female subjects.

Research design and methods: We randomly assigned from a single site patient pool 55 postmenopausal patients to receive OL therapy consisting of axial bone loading through lower extremity and spinal erection kinetic chains. The subjects selected (mean age of 69 (+/-? 8.3 SD) years) were seen to have low BMD (T-Score of -1.0 or lower) or were diagnosed with osteoporosis, but had not yet started any or had declined pharmacological intervention. All subjects performed in a 24-week observational trial. The OL apparatus utilized isolates optimal ranges of motion (i.e. ranges that humans reflexively assume to absorb impact in a fall) and had been previously seen to increase BMD and functional loading in impact positions. The subjects were able to produce force/loading to fatigue in the respective movements from baseline to post. We measured multiples-of-bodyweight (MOB) baselinepost, and randomly assigned a subgroup for baseline-post DXA scans.

Results: The OL therapy intervention resulted in statistically significant increases in functional loading of bone based on self-imposed loading to fatigue of 3.2 (+/-1.0 SD) MOB to 7.2 (+/-2.0 SD) MOB in hip/lower extremity loading and 0.98 (+/-0.32 SD) MOB to 1.97 (+/-0.57 SD) MOB in the loading of the spine. A 131% and 126% increase was recorded in musculoskeletal functional kinetic chain ability respectively. The DXA subgroup saw BMD (g/cm2) increases of 14.9% (+/- 11.5% SD) in the hip, and 16.6% (+/- 12.2% SD) in the spine (p <0.01 in both baseline-post dependant data sets).

Conclusions: OL therapy as an adjunct to standard care, or as a preventative approach is both feasible and effective for improving BMD for ambulatory individuals with below -1 T-scores. Further, the metrics of MOB force/ loading levels can be viewed as measures of functional bone performance (FBP); meaning that a metric showing tolerable levels of force an individual can absorb into bone/kinetic chain relevant to protection against fracture during the deceleration of a fall impact.