A meta-analysis of 9 trials in postmenopausal women found combining antiresorptive drugs or hormone therapy with exercise improved spine and hip bone density more than exercise alone.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 1,248 participants pooled · 2015PostmenopausalCited 16 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of six trials in postmenopausal women found that combining hormone therapy with exercise increased hip and spine bone density more than exercise alone.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 764 participants pooled · 2015PostmenopausalCited 16 timesPubMed
A meta-analysis of 6 trials in healthy women found adding exercise to hormone therapy did not significantly improve spine or hip bone density compared with hormone therapy alone.
No difference foundMeta-analysis · 585 participants pooled · 2022PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women taking calcium, with or without hormone therapy, who did supervised weight-bearing and resistance exercise three times weekly for a year had greater bone density gains at some sites than non-exercisers.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 320 women · 52 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 91 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women aged 49 to 55 took hormone therapy or placebo, each with or without exercise, and researchers found exercise improved bone density mainly in the placebo group, with no added effect when combined with estrogen.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 78 women · 104 weeks · 1997PostmenopausalCited 83 timesPubMed
Early postmenopausal women did 1 year of jumping and bounding exercise with or without hormone therapy; combined and HRT groups gained more bone density at femur and tibia than controls, exercise alone helped maintain bone mass.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 80 women · 52 weeks · 2002Early postmenopausalCited 71 timesPubMed
Early postmenopausal women did one year of resistance training with or without hormone therapy, and resistance training alone increased spine bone density as much as hormone therapy did.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 141 women · 52 weeks · 2007Early postmenopausalCited 54 timesPubMed
Surgically menopausal women took estrogen alone or estrogen plus weight training for 1 year; researchers found spine and total body bone density increased more with added exercise.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 20 women · 52 weeks · 1991PostmenopausalCited 112 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did progressive strength training for up to 4 years, and higher exercise frequency was linked to greater bone density gains at the hip and spine, especially among hormone therapy users.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 167 women · 208 weeks · 2005PostmenopausalCited 34 timesPubMed
A scoping review of 20 studies found resistance training combined with impact activity improved bone density in menopausal women, with greater benefit when combined with hormone therapy than either alone.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2025Midlife womenCited 5 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women doing a year of weight-bearing and resistance exercise showed modest site-specific bone density gains, with combined exercise and hormone therapy producing greater gains than either alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 90 women · 52 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 35 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did a 6-month supervised exercise weight-loss program with placebo, raloxifene or hormone therapy, and weight loss was linked to reduced bone density, especially without raloxifene or hormone therapy.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 94 women · 26 weeks · 2005PostmenopausalCited 29 timesPubMed
In a 9-year follow-up of peri-menopausal women from an exercise trial, hormone therapy use, not the original exercise program, was linked to maintained bone mineral content, while fitness declined with age regardless.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 80 women · 468 weeks · 2005PerimenopausalCited 16 timesPubMed
Perimenopausal women randomized to physical training, hormone replacement therapy, or control for 18 months showed that both training and HRT prevented spine bone density loss seen in the control group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 60 women · 78 weeks · 2005PerimenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did a 20-week graduated walking program with or without hormone therapy; walking alone did not change bone turnover markers and added no benefit to hormone therapy.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 22 women · 20 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal Masters-level athletes doing regular high intensity exercise took hormone therapy or placebo for 20 weeks; hormone therapy reduced bone resorption markers but not bone formation markers.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 15 women · 20 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women followed 5 years, bone density fell after stopping hormone therapy and in never-users, while usual physical activity did not noticeably change bone loss in any group.
No difference foundCohort study · 961 women · 260 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
Three elderly women did 40 weeks of jumping, balance and strength exercise, with or without raloxifene, which improved balance, gait speed and leg strength but had limited effect on bone density.
Mixed resultsBefore-and-after study · 3 women · 40 weeks · 2002PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
A literature review reported that exercise, especially high impact activities like stepping and jumping, produced modest bone density benefits in postmenopausal women and reduced hip fracture incidence.
Reported an improvementOther · 1999PostmenopausalCited 39 timesPubMed
This protocol describes an 8-month trial testing whether high-intensity resistance and impact training with or without osteoporosis medication changes bone density in postmenopausal women with low bone mass, no results yet.
Direction not statedOther · 160 women · 32 weeks · 2019PostmenopausalCited 8 timesPubMed
A review of postmenopausal women found estrogen or soy isoflavones combined with exercise training may increase bone mineral density more than either alone, and slightly increased lean mass.
Mixed resultsOther · 2008PostmenopausalCited 19 timesPubMed
A review reported that combining exercise training with estrogen replacement may increase bone mass more than exercise alone in postmenopausal women, though human trials with other compounds are lacking.
Mixed resultsOther · 2004PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed