High-intensity aquatic exercises (HydrOS) improve physical function and reduce falls among postmenopausal women

Objective: This study aims to investigate the effects of an aquatic exercise program (HydrOS) on neuromuscular function and falls among postmenopausal women.Methods: One hundred eight postmenopausal women (mean [SD] age, 58.8 [6.4] y) were randomly divided into the control group (CG; n = 44) and the aquatic exercise group (AEG; n = 64). Both groups received elementary calcium 500 mg/day and cholecalciferol 1,000 IU/day. for 24 weeks, the AEG participated in the aquatic exercise program, whereas the CG remained sedentary. the following variables were measured before and after the program: number of falls and fallers (7 mo before and after the intervention); flexibility, using Wells' Sit-and-Reach Test (FLEX); static balance, using the Unipedal Stance Test (UST); mobility, using the Timed-Up-and-Go test (TUG); handgrip strength of the dominant hand (HGS); and maximal isometric strength of back extensor muscles (SBE), strength of hip flexor muscles (SHF), and strength of knee extensor muscles (SKE). the muscle strength tests were considered the primary outcome, whereas the other neuromuscular tests, together with falls, were considered secondary outcomes.Results were significant when P <= 0.05. Results: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D significantly increased by 21% in the CG and by 23% in the AEG (P < 0.001). the number of falls and fallers after the program remained unchanged in the CG; in the AEG, the mean number of falls decreased from 2.00 to 0.29 (P < 0.0001), and the number of fallers decreased by 44% (P < 0.0001). All neuromuscular variables significantly improved in the AEG: FLEX (26.6%; P < 0.0001), UST (14.1%; P < 0.001), TUG (23.7%; P < 0.001), HGS (13.4%; P < 0.001), SBE (26.2%; P < 0.001), SHF (18.5%; P = 0.039), and SKE (7.7%; P < 0.001). in the CG, significant improvements in FLEX (12.2%; P = 0.009), UST (4.5%; P < 0.001), TUG (10%; P < 0.001), and SHF (5.7%; P = 0.039) were observed and could be explained by increasing serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level attributable to supplementation.Conclusions: the aquatic exercise program HydrOS is a safe and efficient way to improve physical function and to reduce falls among postmenopausal women.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Div Endocrinol, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Sch Phys Educ & Sport, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Sch Phys Educ, Exercise Res Lab, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Div Endocrinol, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 08/50179-9Web of Scienc

The benefits of a high-intensity aquatic exercise program (HydrOS) for bone metabolism and bone mass of postmenopausal women

This study aimed to evaluate the 24-week effects of a high-intensity aquatic exercise program on bone remodeling markers and bone mass of postmenopausal women. in this randomized, controlled trial we studied 108 women (58.8 +/- A 6.4 years), randomized into Aquatic Exercise Group (AEG), n = 64, performing 24 weeks of aquatic exercises, and Control Group (CG), n = 44, sedentary. They had their fasting morning blood sample collected for the measures of intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP) and carboxy-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen (CTx). Bone mass was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry before and after the intervention. Participants of both groups received a daily supplementation of 500 mg of elementary calcium and 1,000 IU of vitamin D (cholecalciferol). Results showed an augment in bone formation marker (P1NP) only in the AEG (15.8 %; p = 0.001), and although both groups experienced significant enhancements in bone resorption marker (CTx), this increase was less considerable in the AEG (15 % in the AEG and 29 % in the CG). IPTH was increased by 19 % in the CG (p = 0.003) at the end. the femoral trochanter BMD presented a 1.2 % reduction in the CG (p = 0.009), whereas in the AEG no change was observed (p = 0.069). the proposed aquatic exercise program was efficient in attenuating bone resorption raise and enhancing bone formation, which prevented the participants in the AEG from reducing the femoral trochanter BMD, as happened in the CG.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP, Sch Med, Div Endocrinol, São Paulo, BrazilAmbulatorio Endocrinol UNIFESP, BR-04038030 São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Sch Phys Educ & Sport, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Sch Phys Educ, Exercise Res Lab, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP, Sch Med, Div Endocrinol, São Paulo, BrazilAmbulatorio Endocrinol UNIFESP, BR-04038030 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of ScienceFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FAPESP: 08/50179-