Evidence library · Muscle mass

Does impact and jumping affect muscle mass in menopause? What 7 studies found

Studies of impact and jumping in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured muscle mass. 6 reported an improvement and 0 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. A systematic review of 15 studies found that multicomponent training combining resistance, weight-bearing and impact exercise could increase or preserve muscle and bone mass in postmenopausal women.

    Reported an improvementSystematic review · 2018PostmenopausalCited 35 timesPubMed

  2. Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors did 1 year of thrice-weekly resistance plus impact training, and researchers found preserved spine bone density and increased lean mass compared to a stretching control group.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 106 women · 52 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 144 timesPubMed

  3. Women aged 50 to 57 did 12 months of high-impact exercise with or without hormone therapy; combined exercise plus hormones increased knee strength, jump height and muscle area more than either alone.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 80 women · 52 weeks · 2001Early postmenopausalCited 169 timesPubMed

  4. Postmenopausal women aged 50 to 57 did a year of high-impact lower-limb training with or without hormone therapy, with jump height and running speed improving in hormone and combined groups.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 51 women · 52 weeks · 2005Early postmenopausalCited 99 timesPubMed

  5. Early postmenopausal women with osteopenia doing high-intensity weight-bearing resistance training three times weekly for about 13 months improved spine bone density, lean mass, body fat, strength and menopausal symptoms versus low-intensity controls.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 54 women · 56 weeks · 2021Early postmenopausalCited 38 timesPubMed

  6. In a trial of 40 peri and early postmenopausal women, 9 months of twice weekly heavy strength and impact training increased lean mass, muscle strength, leg power, and lumbar spine bone density versus a waitlist control.

    Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 40 women · 39 weeks · 2026PerimenopausalPubMed

  7. A pilot RCT protocol will test a 9-month high-intensity resistance and impact training program in 40 perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women, assessing feasibility and bone, muscle and function measures.

    Direction not statedOther · 40 women · 36 weeks · 2025PerimenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed

How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.

Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.

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