Exercise Training Alters the Bone Mineral Density of Hemodialysis Patients

Marinho, SM, Moraes, C, Barbosa, JEdSM, Eduardo, JCC, Fouqe, D, Pelletier, S, and Mafra, D. Exercise training alters the bone mineral density of hemodialysis patients. J Strength Cond Res 30(10): 2918-2923, 2016-Patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis (HD) frequently present low bone mineral density (BMD), and exercise may be useful for treating bone loss. This study aimed to assess the effects of an intradialytic resistance exercise training program (RETP) on BMD in HD patients. Twenty-one patients were enrolled into 2 groups; 10 patients performed exercise (80.0% men; 46.9 ± 12.1 years; 27.0 ± 3.4 kg·m) and 11 patients were in the control group (54.5% men; 50.5 ± 11.5 years; 24.1 ± 8.7 kg·m). Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to measure the BMD, lean mass, and body fat before and after the supervised RETP (performed with elastic bands and ankle cuffs in both lower limbs 3 times a week for 24 weeks-72 sessions). In the exercise group, 30.0% of patients presented with osteopenia and 20.0% osteoporosis and in the control group, 45.5% osteopenia and 36.4% osteoporosis. Only in the exercise group, the osteoporosis percentage was reduced to 10.0% and the femoral neck BMD and T-score improved from 0.89 ± 0.1 to 0.93 ± 0.1 g·cm and from -1.3 ± 0.8 to -1.0 ± 0.8 g·cm (p ≤ 0.05), respectively, after the intervention. In contrast, these parameters were reduced in the control group. The results suggest that resistance exercise may be useful for improving the BMD in HD patients. In summary, 24 weeks of the supervised RETP played a role in improving the BMD of HD patients.