Aerobic Exercise and Whole-Body Vibration in Offsetting Bone Loss in Older Adults

Osteoporosis and its associated fractures are common complications of aging and most strategies to prevent and/or treat bone loss focused on antiresorptive medications. However, aerobic exercise (AEX) and/or whole-body vibration (WBV) might have beneficial effect on bone mass and provide an alternative approach to increase or maintain bone mineral density (BMD) and reduce the risk of fractures. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the potential benefits of AEX and WBV on BMD in older population and discuss the possible mechanisms of action. Several online databases were utilized and based on the available literature the consensus is that both AEX and WBV may increase spine and femoral BMD in older adults. Therefore, AEX and WBV could serve as nonpharmacological and complementary approaches to increasing/maintaining BMD. However, it is uncertain if noted effects could be permanent and further studies are needed to investigate sustainability of either type of the exercise.