Forget Milk...Go For a Run!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Last week, a new study comparing a group of male runners with cyclists found the latter group had a higher risk of developing osteopenia, a bone condition that can double the risk of fracture.
The study, by Pam Hinton, associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, looked at the bone mineral density of 27 cyclists and 16 runners ages 20 to 59. The results showed that 63 percent of cyclists had lower-than-normal bone density of the spine or hip, compared with 19 percent of the runners.
Scary stuff -- especially for women, whose risk of osteoporosis is far greater than that of men's.
What to do, then? Stop cycling? (Lord, wouldn't that make my year!...I still can't seem to get near my bike again after IM). Hinton says that's hardly the case, though. Instead, she suggests some workout variety for cyclists (and, one might conclude, swimmers, too?) -- jumping rope, basketball, plyometrics, or running.
Good news for us triathletes -- and runners -- out there.
Posted by Erin 8:11 AM
I am sure we do plenty enough running to protect ourselves. The trick will be to keep it up as we age. Weight bearing exercise in the post-menopause years is very important.