March 07, 2014

Kelly Carlson '14Abstract:

Osteoporosis is a degenerative bone disease that is the results in loss of bone density particularly in elderly women. This study was preformed to evaluate the effectiveness of two treatments for osteoporosis. A 50 minute weight bearing exercise regimen or a 50 minute low intensity magnetic therapy session was assigned to a total of 30 elderly (60-70) women who had osteoporosis. Each group contained 15 women and there were three 50 minute sessions per week for a total of three months. A dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) was used to measure the bone mineral density of the neck of the femur and L3-L5 in each woman before the beginning of treatment as well as after. A comparison of bone mineral density before and after treatment showed that both exercise and magnetic therapy groups significantly increased bone mineral density while not being significantly different from each other. It can be concluded that magnetic therapy as well as exercising can increase bone mineral density.