Effectiveness of Resistance Training Programs in Individuals with Osteoporosis or Sarcopenia: A literature review

Abstract

Background: Sarcopenia and osteoporosis rank among the most common geriatric conditions that greatly compromise both the quality of life and health status of older people. Apart from the shared feature that characterizes them as progressive loss of skeletal muscle and bone density, the conditions described represent a great public health challenge. New research suggests a bidirectional nature between muscle weakness and bone frailty and calls for the development of integrative strategies of intervention. Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of the resistance training on bone density (BD), muscle mass (MM), muscle strength (MS), and the quality of life (QoL) in individuals with sarcopenia, osteopenia, or both, without any nutritional or pharmacologic approach. Methods: A systematic search of the literature, using databases PUBMED, PEDro, and Cochrane. This was a review of only randomized trials and systematic reviews that evaluated the effect of resistance training on BD, MM, MS and QoL. The search excluded studies of other specific health conditions or those using nutritional supplements. The key outcomes were analyzed using effect measures such as Standardized Mean Difference, Mean Difference, and P values across studies. Also, the quality of the selected studies were assessed through the PEDro grading scale and needed to obtain a final score of >5. Results: Our findings indicated that resistance training may maintain or have modest effects on BD at many skeletal sites while marked, sustained improvements are difficult to obtain without other therapeutic interventions. In regards to sarcopenia, improvements in MM and MS were observed in the short-term but were not consistently sustained. Importantly, resistance training had great effects on the perceived health status, while more irregularly affecting the wider QoL measures, as shown with tools such as the EQ-VAS and QUALEFFO-41. Conclusion: Resistance training is a viable tool for counteracting the deleterious effects of aging on muscle and skeleton health, hence improving quality of life among the elderly. Although the improvements for osteoporosis (BD) are modest and those for sarcopenia (MM and MS) inconclusive the benefits for quality of life are encouraging. This may be taken as a good reason to incorporate physical activity in routine care for the elderly. However, future research in long-term and varied intensity resistance training programs will be needed to fully understand their potential impact on sarcopenia and osteoporosis management.