Exercise prevents risk of fractures in older women: study

A moderate level of physical activity can help protect elderly women from hip fractures, suggests a recent study from the Oulu Deaconess Institute in Finland.

According to a study abstract, researchers studied 160 women, approximately half of whom were involved in supervised balance, leg strength and impact training exercise sessions once a week over a six-month period each year from 1998 to 2001. During follow-up, researchers found that none of the women in the exercise group suffered hip fractures, while five women in the control group did.

Study authors noted that those who engaged in lifelong physical activity had a greater reduction in fracture risk. The study also found that at the end of follow-up, only one study participant in the exercise group died, while eight deaths occurred in the control group.

The study was published in the Sept. 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.