During childhood and adolescence, bone mineral density (BMD) increases until the peak bone mass is reached in adulthood. Physical activity has been proposed as a major determinant of BMD. The osteogenic effect of exercise can be attributed mainly to the impact and mechanical loads applied to the bone; however, not all physical activities have the same effects on bone. Duration and intensity are factors which will affect the osteogenic stimulus produced [1, 2, 3]. Recent literature reviews have shown that high impact sports seem to be more osteogenic than non impact sports such as swimming or cycling, in children [4], young adults [4, 5] or older adults [6]. Some studies showed that athletes from other sports presented BMD values much higher than swimmers [7, 8]. A lot of investigations have been produced approaching this theme; nevertheless, results among studies remain disparate [7-12]. Therefore, further investigations in this area are needed in order to elucidate the effect of swimming on BMD.
© Copyright 2014 XIIth International Symposium for Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming. Published by Australian Institute of Sport. All rights reserved.