Exercise may protect against hip fracture

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Certain types of exercise may help prevent the increasing risk of hip fracture with age.
The fragility of the femoral neck increases with age, which is probably why older people are more likely to break a hip. A team at the University of Cambridge used computed tomography to scan sections of the femur (thigh bone) from 81 adults who died suddenly.

The findings showed how the thin cortical zone of the upper femoral neck becomes substantially thinner with age. In women, cortical thickness decreased by 6.4 per cent per decade, and similar - but slightly smaller decreases - were found for men.

The researchers think that the strength of the femoral neck could be increased by certain types of exercise. These include cycling, rowing, gymnastics and weight training. Walking may not put sufficient training stress upon the femur, although it is good for other reasons.

Source
The Lancet 9th July 2005

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