Tuesday, April 24, 2007

NIH Study: Bone density/growth and swimming

Swimming produces more bone growth than running. The study was conducted by the National Institute of Health using rats as the testing subjects. More evidence that gravity is not necessarily your friend for prolonged workouts. Snippet:
  • Exercise had a minimal effect on bone growth in the run-trained animals but did stimulate development in the swim-trained animals. The humerus of the SWIM was significantly heavier, wider and had a greater BMC when compared with those of the RUN and CON rats. The results of this study indicate that the muscular forces applied by the swim training protocol produced greater bone adaptations than the forces applied by a running protocol of equal duration and intensity. [Link]

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