The Influence of Exercise on Cartilage and Bone Physical Properties and Metabolism
Overview:
The aim of this project is to examine how exercise or physical activity (a nonstructured form of exercise) may affect cartilage and bone health as well as joint symptoms. We will look at what effect different types (e.g., weight training or jumping), and frequencies of exercise have. The overarching goal is to contribute to knowledge on the role of exercise in reducing osteoarthritis risk; a debilitating degenerative joint disease affecting the whole joint and osteoporosis risk, a systemic bone disease that effects the strength and microarchitectural structure of bones, increasing their risk of fracture.
Exercise in a structured form, or physical activity as part of everyday life are cheap and easy ways for individuals to improve their bone and joint health as well as having many other positive effects on health. This research will help to determine what the optimal form of exercise is to keep bones and joints healthy for longer. This will help reduce reliance on pain medication later in life, delay joint surgery and free up beds in hospital.
Biomarkers measured in blood and urine will be used to assess the health of cartilage and bone. These markers will be used to measure the amount of new bone and cartilage being formed and old bone and cartilage being resorbed.
During the coronavirus restrictions we have pursued alternative forms of research and are conducting an online survey examining how the COVID-19 restrictions may impact on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and joint symptoms. We also looked at bone scans taken before and after six months of jump training in women and twelve months in men to determine whether any changes in the shape of the hip occurred that might indicate adaptions to the exercise.
Participants will be recruited for this research through word of mouth, social media posts and advertisements at the university and in the surrounds area.
Aims and Objectives:
- Investigate what effect different forms of exercise have on blood markers of cartilage and bone health.
- Examine the effect of the COVID-19 restrictions on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and joint symptoms in older adults.
- Examine the effect of high impact exercise training on hip shape and bone mineral density in older men and women.
Key Findings:
- An acute bout of impact exercise had a stimulatory effect on bone signalling and cartilage turnover markers. An acute bout of resistance exercise had no stimulatory effect on bone signalling and more research is required to discern its effect on cartilage turnover.
- The first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK did not significantly reduce the PA levels of older adults but did significantly impact on their levels of sedentary behaviour in addition to a small but significant impact on knee joint symptoms.
- Six months of high impact training in women and twelve months in men had limited impact on bone shape or OA risk but improved femoral neck BMD.
Outputs:
Boxer, B & Gregory, J & Saunders, F & Brooke-Wavell, K. (2022). Effect of High Impact Exercise Training on Bone Mineral Density and Shape in Older Men and Women. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 30. S227. 10.1016/j.joca.2022.02.308.
Boxer B, Gregory J.S, Saunders F, Brooke-Wavell K. “Effect of High Impact Exercise Training on Bone Mineral Density and Shape in Older Men and Women.” OARSI World Congress on Osteoarthritis, Berlin. 7-10 April 2022. (Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 01 April 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2022.02.308).