A 12-week Exercise Program Improves Functional Status in Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Women: Randomized Controlled Study

Background: Beside the importance of implementing physical activity in treatment of patients with osteoporosis, the multicomponent exercise program and assessment of its functional outcomes performed by five performance-based measures, have not been explored yet.

Aim: The present study evaluated the effect of the 12 weeks exercise program on functional outcomes of postmenopausal patients with densitometric diagnosed osteoporosis.

Design: The study was designed as randomized control study.

Setting: Female outpatients with diagnosed postmenopausal osteoporosis were included in the study.

Population: The study included women from urban area.

Methods: Patients were randomized in two groups: exercise group (EG) and control group (CG). Patients in the exercise group (N.=47) participated in a 12 weeks exercise program, which consisted of resistance training, balance exercise and aerobic exercise, while patients from control group (N.=49) had not participated in any exercise program during the intervention period. Functional outcomes determined by Time Up and Go Test (TUG), Sit To Stand test (STS) and One Leg Stance Test (OLST) were evaluated at baseline and 4 and 12 weeks after treatment, while Fall Efficacy Scale (FES-I) and Knowledge About Osteoporosis Questionnaire (OKAT-S) were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks, respectively.

Results: There were noticed statistically significant improvement in all observed measurements in EG after 4 and 12 weeks, respectively. Comparison between groups showed statistically significant difference in EG compared to CG in all functional outcomes in observed periods (P<0.001 for all). OLST significantly changed only in EG, not in CG, in both experimental periods. After 4 weeks, in CG there were no statistically significant changes in any of the monitored parameters, while after 12 weeks improvements were detected with TUG, STS, FES-I and OKAT-S.

Conclusions: Twelve weeks exercise program, as an effective, inexpensive and easily performed method, improved functional status in postmenopausal osteoporotic women.

Clinical Rehabilitation Impact: In the present study we found that supervised exercise program in postmenopausal osteoporotic female patients significantly improved their muscle strength and balance and decreased fear of falling. Thus, it is proposed to be a part of clinical protocol for osteoporosis treatment.