Cyclists at risk for bone loss

[fiamme red]

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-cycling16-2009feb16,0,1785648.story

[Blue Jays]

Yep, a modest amount of time spent in the weightroom helps athletes to be crosstrained. The same way time on a bicycle benefits the weightroom folks.
A word to the wise is sufficient. :beer:

[dougpnirv]

"Bike for Life" has a full chapter devoted to bone density, including tests on elite cyclists. Definitely something to be aware of & address.

[thwart]

Started running again, a couple of times a week, this winter as some shoulder issues cropped up on the rollers with daily use...

Glad I did.

Long standing advice about the benefits of cross training proven true once again...

[Steve-O]

Two years ago I had a Dexa scan for bone density. At 37 years old I had moderate osteoporosis. I now take daily calcium chews and do some moderate jogging. This after 8+ years of cycling at roughly 4K miles per year.

If your a serious cyclist you owe it to yourself to keep an eye on your bones. I think about it every time I race a crit or ride in the winter.

[jpw]

I've been doing my winter running since the beginning of October. Every other day without missing even one, which is exceptional for me. Running stimulates red blood cell production in the marrow of those long leg bones.

I don't enjoy running at all, but there is a sense of achievement at the end of it. Spring is coming, and then I will go swimming instead.

[Ray]

I was reading somewhere recently (I don't remember where and have no idea how valid) that even running isn't great for bone density. Something about endurance exercise high enough in the HR zone can still cause bone density problems. Mix in a good bit of lower HR training (like hiking) and resistance work (weight lifting) may be the most sure fired way to avoid this problem.

-Ray

[coopdog]

Somewhere I read that researchers thought maybe some or all of the mineral loss was occurring during very specific instances, such as long, hard rides with profuse sweating. The idea being that the athlete was sweating for an extended period. The body was robbing bones of much needed calcium during the effort. And since cycling does not create the "shearing" forces necessary to stimulate bone growth, the bone was not regenerating following the exercise.

Apparently, triathletes don't suffer from the same problems.

Article from Journal of Science & Medicine-

Exercise and BMD. We have all heard about the importance of weight-bearing exercise in maintaining BMD. A recent article shows just how important this can be by comparing the BMD of world-class internationally top-ranked athletes to age-matched controls. Twenty-eight weight lifters had Ward`s triangle BMD 23% greater than controls. Six sport-boxers had an increase up to 17% (lumbar spine), 9% (hip), and 7% (Ward`s triangle). Six Tour de France bikers showed BMD decreased by 10% in the lumbar spine, 14% in the hip and 17% in the Ward`s triangle. So you can be extremely physically fit and active, and still have low BMD if your activity is not weight bearing. Sabo D and others. Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb 1996 Jan-Feb;134(1):1-6. Modification of bone quality by extreme physical stress. Bone density measurements in high-performance athletes using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. MEDLINE UI:96209389

Here's an abstract from Journal of Bone Mineral Research.

http://www.jbmronline.org/doi/abs/10.1359/jbmr.071203

I'd love to see more research on this if someone knows some other sources.

[djg]

This has come up before -- one of those bits of press accounts of a very limited study that makes me wonder how much more information we need before we have anything like a good thing. The bit about mtb suggests that almost any variation in the low load cycling routine mitigates the loss, but of course we don't know (a) how much specialization is a problem, (b) how much of a problem it is, (c) how much of a net problem it might be (that is, lots of cycling, as opposed to what, evaluated for all its physiological costs and benefits), and (d) if it's a problem, what is necessary to ameliorate or eliminate the problem. Some elite cyclists are highly specific in their training; some are not -- building weight training and various forms of cross training into their annual training cycle. And face it, most of us -- even most of us who still race -- are not really elite cyclists. So what do we need to do to keep our bones healthy? It may be that one hour per week of tennis or soccer or jogging will do the trick. 50 push-ups, a three mile walk, and a glass of milk? We don't know. Consider at least this: if you cut way back on your cycling, gain 20 pounds, increase your blood pressure, etc., you may do your bones some good and your overall health some real harm. YMMV.

[tylercheung]

is the article saying that the bone density is less than that of the average person? if so, that's odd, and points to something causing greater bone resorption as well....

[fiamme red]

is the article saying that the bone density is less than that of the average person?Yes. This is the most recent study:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19127198

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that male cyclists had lower spine BMD than controls, which was not associated with group differences in testosterone. Future studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms for low bone mass in cyclists.

Here's some good information and advice:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=2006/letters07-10#Cycling

[milhouse]

Well I suppose I might as well post my own timely story...

Been doing some mixture of running, rowing, cycling + most recently triathlon over the last 10 years or so. Developed stress fractures about 6 months ago that I've been unable to get rid of. Got bone density test results last week & have osteoporosis in lower back at -3stdevs, i.e. 67% of average bone density. Extrapolating off the chart this equals about a 150yr old!! Hip is on -2.5 stdevs, which is borderline osteopenia/osteoporosis.

Gutted to say the least...now looking into alternatives than biking as rather worried about falling off & breaking my back or something. Worst part is I'm only 29....really not sure what happened but going for further tests etc. shortly. On the bright side at least I didn't discover this after getting permanently screwed up in a crash.

[fiamme red]

Well I suppose I might as well post my own timely story...

Been doing some mixture of running, rowing, cycling + most recently triathlon over the last 10 years or so. Developed stress fractures about 6 months ago that I've been unable to get rid of. Got bone density test results last week & have osteoporosis in lower back at -3stdevs, i.e. 67% of average bone density. Extrapolating off the chart this equals about a 150yr old!! Hip is on -2.5 stdevs, which is borderline osteopenia/osteoporosis.

Gutted to say the least...now looking into alternatives than biking as rather worried about falling off & breaking my back or something. Worst part is I'm only 29....really not sure what happened but going for further tests etc. shortly. On the bright side at least I didn't discover this after getting permanently screwed up in a crash.I don't think you need to give up cycling, but you should definitely add year-round weight training to your regimen, especially squats and deadlifts.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/15btlnmre23bfcue/

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of high-intensity and low-intensity resistance training upon bone mineral density (BMD) by comparing the BMD of young male powerlifters (n = 5), recreational trainees (n = 5), and controls (n = 5). Lumbar spine (L2-L4), proximal femur, and whole body BMDs were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The high-intensity group showed a significantly greater BMD when the whole body and trochanter regions were measured than the low-intensity and control group. The BMD of the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and Ward's triangle was greater in the high-intensity group compared with the control group. There was no significant BMD difference between the low-intensity and control group except at the trochanter region. These results suggest that high-intensity resistance training is effective for increasing BMD, but low-intensity resistance training is not.

[Elefantino]

Damn.

I thought this was another saddle thread.

:)

[mobile homeless]

Consistently the best cycling forum on a number of fronts, though I now feel like throwing myself over the railing...

kh

[Skrawny]

Consistently the best cycling forum on a number of fronts, though I now feel like throwing myself over the railing...

kh

That is one form of weight bearing exercise, but you can't do enough reps to have a significant effect.
-s

[EastCoastRoadie]

I was reading somewhere recently (I don't remember where and have no idea how valid) that even running isn't great for bone density. Something about endurance exercise high enough in the HR zone can still cause bone density problems. Mix in a good bit of lower HR training (like hiking) and resistance work (weight lifting) may be the most sure fired way to avoid this problem.

-Ray


My understanding is that it is the lack of impact that hurts cyclists. Because there is no impact, the body adjusts over time and the bones weaken. This should not be a problem with running (assuming proper nutrition) or any type of exercise that involves resistance (hiking, running, weight lifting, etc.). It also is much less of an issue for mtbers who obviously get bounced around quite a bit and who generally speaking get a much better full body workout when they ride. One of the prices of being a devoted roadie...

[Ray]

My understanding is that it is the lack of impact that hurts cyclists. Because there is no impact, the body adjusts over time and the bones weaken. This should not be a problem with running (assuming proper nutrition) or any type of exercise that involves resistance (hiking, running, weight lifting, etc.). It also is much less of an issue for mtbers who obviously get bounced around quite a bit and who generally speaking get a much better full body workout when they ride. One of the prices of being a devoted roadie...
That was always my understanding too, but I thought I'd read something recently that it can be a problem for long distance runners and tri-athletes too, which calls the "impact" idea into question. But I tried to find it again and couldn't, so probably best to just disregard my earlier post as more typically misguided ramblings. :cool:

-Ray

[1centaur]

FWIW, the National Enquirer likes to publish the upshot (no details) of new medical studies and they just reported a new study that shows a "very small" dose of aspirin on a regular basis not only halts osteoporosis but builds back bone.

If you'll recall, the aspirin theory about heart attacks was laughed off at first but got traction over time. Similarly, the cholesterol theory of heart attacks may be overcome by the inflammation theory of heart attacks, since both statins and aspirin are anti-inflammatories. Now we get this study on bones. If exercise, cycling and running, is leading to osteoporosis, and aspirin turns about to be a countervailing agent, we may hear more about exercise and inflammation in the years to come.

[fiamme red]

That was always my understanding too, but I thought I'd read something recently that it can be a problem for long distance runners and tri-athletes too, which calls the "impact" idea into question. But I tried to find it again and couldn't, so probably best to just disregard my earlier post as more typically misguided ramblings. :cool:

-RayStudies have found that endurance running increases bone mineral density in the lower body, at the expense of upper body bones.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3191994.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2697415.stm

[EastCoastRoadie]

Studies have found that endurance running increases bone mineral density in the lower body, at the expense of upper body bones.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3191994.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2697415.stm

That makes perfect sense since the upper body is completely ignored in running from an impact standpoint similar to a roadie.

[WadePatton]

Rehashing again no?

A local paper just cited that 2002 study---hmmm.

Acidic foods and excess protein are the major culprits in bone density issues. Dr. James MacDougall is quite convinced that the standard BD tests are bogus from the get go anyway.

Mountain biking provides impact--uh huh. :bike:

As does jumping off and on the bike in 'cross racing.

As does trail work...and so on.