Exercise Interventions for Preventing and Treating Low Bone Mass in the Forearm: A Systematic Review and...

Area of Science:

• Bone Health and Exercise Science
• Musculoskeletal Research
• Gerontology and Rehabilitation

Background:

• Forearm bone mass is a critical indicator of skeletal health, particularly in aging populations.
• Understanding effective exercise interventions is crucial for preventing fractures and osteoporosis.
• Previous research has yielded mixed results regarding the efficacy of different exercise types on forearm bone density.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and meta-analyze the effectiveness of exercise interventions on improving forearm bone mass.
• To compare the impact of different exercise modalities, including resistance training and impact exercises, on forearm bone density.
• To evaluate the quality of evidence supporting exercise interventions for forearm bone mass enhancement.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL) up to December 2018.
• Adults participating in upper limb exercise interventions of at least 12 weeks duration were included.
• Random-effects meta-analysis was performed on data from 21 studies, assessing percentage change in forearm bone mass, with quality appraisal using the Cochrane risk of bias tool.

Main Results:

• Overall, exercise interventions demonstrated a statistically significant, moderate increase in forearm bone mass (SMD, 1.27).
• High-intensity resistance training (HIRT) and low-intensity resistance training (LIRT) both led to moderate improvements in forearm bone mass.
• Impact exercises did not result in statistically significant improvements in forearm bone mass, with low-quality evidence supporting this finding.

Conclusions:

• Moderate-quality evidence supports the effectiveness of exercise, particularly upper body resistance training (HIRT/LIRT), for improving forearm bone mass.
• The evidence for the efficacy of impact exercises on forearm bone mass is currently low-quality and inconclusive.
• Further research is needed to determine the optimal exercise type and parameters for maximizing forearm bone mass gains.