Running is great for women and men to get strong bones

I just found that some great news for runner. A new study published in the European Journal Of Applied Physiology suggests that endurance running can be beneficial for bone health. The study from Camilo Jose Cela University (UCJC) in Madrid, Spain found that training for endurance races can have a positive effect on calcaneus bone stiffness, which shows the bone density and quality of the calcaneus, a bone in the foot that forms the heel.

Although in healthy individuals, factors such as sex, age, race and diet all help to determine bone density, it can be improved by lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, especially exercises that involve weight-bearing or high impacts, such as jumping.

However the team now also believe that their results show that endurance training is also an effective way to prevent the progressive decline in bone mineral density that occurs with age, with the study’s lead author Beatriz Lara commenting that, “Sports such as swimming or skating, in which body weight or impact loading are reduced, do not generate high osteogenic benefits. Nevertheless, the effect that endurance running training may have on our bones is not yet known — while it does not entail high impacts, it does require running long distances.” – AFP Relaxnews

That's a good news for us as endurance runner. It give motivation for us to keep on running for health and not for prize.