SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Physical Activity in the Prevention and Management of Disease
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1655404
The effect of physical activity intervention and detraining on postmenopausal osteopenia and osteoporosis: A systematic review
Provisionally accepted
- Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
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The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effects of physical activity and subsequent detraining on bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women. Osteoporosis is a major health concern in this population, and regular exercise is considered a key non-pharmacological strategy in preventing its progression. This systematic review performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines analyzes available scientific studies that examine the impact of various types of physical training programs and also monitor the consequences of their discontinuation (detraining). The search was performed using three databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. During the database search, 1161 studies were identified. A total of 3 studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings suggest that regular resistance, aerobic and HIIT training (2 to 5 sessions per week) can significantly improve or maintain BMD, particularly in the lumbar spine and proximal femur. Conversely, the cessation of exercise leads to a gradual decline in the achieved benefits within a few months. The results emphasize the importance of long-term physical activity as part of osteoporosis prevention, while also highlighting the risks associated with the interruption of structured training.
Keywords: postmenopausal women, Bone health, physical activity, osteoporosis prevention, bone mineral density, training effects, exercise interventions, detraining
Received: 27 Jun 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gombarčíková, Svobodová, Svobodová and Gimunová. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tatiana Gombarčíková, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
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