A meta-analysis of 10 trials found chair-based exercise improved muscle endurance, flexibility and dynamic balance in postmenopausal women, but not handgrip strength or static balance.
Mixed resultsMeta-analysis · 509 participants pooled · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
Women averaging 69 years did an 18 month multipurpose exercise program and researchers reported increased lean mass and strength and reduced body fat compared to an active control group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 246 women · 78 weeks · 2010Midlife womenCited 56 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporotic spinal fractures did 10 weeks of balance and strength physiotherapy training, reporting less pain, improved quality of life, and improved muscle strength.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 53 women · 10 weeks · 1998PostmenopausalCited 91 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did 18 weeks of progressive quadriceps strength and proprioception training and had fewer falls, better balance and quality of life than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 85 women · 18 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 50 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women aged 50 to 75 did 9 months of weighted vest exercise and showed improved balance, leg strength and power versus controls, but no change in femoral neck bone mass.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 44 women · 39 weeks · 1998PostmenopausalCited 75 timesPubMed
In 44 healthy postmenopausal women, 12 months of daily heel drops plus weekly high-impact classes did not significantly increase bone density at any site versus low-impact controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 44 women · 52 weeks · 1995PostmenopausalCited 78 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteopenia did 52 weeks of hip-targeted strength, balance and jumping exercise with calcium, and showed a small hip bone density benefit plus better quality of life versus controls.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 39 women · 52 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 49 timesPubMed
Older postmenopausal cancer survivors did tai ji quan, strength training, or stretching twice weekly for 6 months and researchers found no difference in fall incidence between groups.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 462 women · 26 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 21 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did 6 months of balance and strength exercise and showed improved static and dynamic balance and upper and lower limb strength compared with controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 65 women · 26 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 35 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did a 12 week program combining resistance, balance and aerobic exercise; the exercise group improved functional measures like Timed Up and Go and fall-efficacy more than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 96 women · 12 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 26 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women did foot stamping, squats and line dancing; the program maintained hip bone density and improved leg strength and balance.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 45 women · 2007PostmenopausalCited 36 timesPubMed
In a 16-week RCT, postmenopausal women doing circuit-style functional training with elastic bands and walking reduced body fat and improved strength, coordination, agility and cholesterol levels versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 50 women · 16 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 24 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did 10 months of land or aquatic exercise; land exercise improved muscle strength, flexibility, gait time, pain and bone density more than aquatic exercise.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 58 women · 43 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 22 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteopenia and a healed wrist fracture did a 6-month weighted vest and balance exercise programme, showing no significant difference from education alone in strength, bone density, balance or quality of life.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 80 women · 26 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 17 timesPubMed
Sedentary women aged 40 to 60 did a balance-strategy training program twice weekly for 12 weeks, improving balance, ankle flexibility and leg muscle strength versus controls, with benefits maintained at 9 months.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 50 women · 12 weeks · 2009Midlife womenCited 16 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with low bone density did 9 months of resistance training plus either whole body vibration or balance training; vibration produced greater gains in jump power.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 57 women · 36 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with low bone density did a 20 week program of aerobic, balance and strength training and researchers found improved bone quality measures and leg strength versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 49 women · 20 weeks · 2008PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
Middle-aged women did 12 weeks of vibration training or conventional strength training, with vibration improving postural sway and both groups gaining knee strength.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 38 women · 12 weeks · 2010Midlife womenCited 13 timesPubMed
914 older women aged around 76 were followed for 2 years in an exercise intervention trial, and better balance and functional test scores predicted fewer falls and fall injuries.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 914 women · 104 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did functional or combined training, and both groups improved walking speed, jumping ability and dressing-task time compared to controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 108 women · 2022PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did high-intensity resistance, weight-bearing and balance training twice weekly for 8 months and showed greater gains in lumbar spine bone density and muscle performance than a low-intensity group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 28 women · 32 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 14 weeks of functional training; both element-based and task-specific programs improved functional reach, gait speed and quality of life versus control.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 47 women · 14 weeks · 2020PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
In 39 middle-aged women, 12 weeks of single-leg strength training produced crossover strength and balance gains in the untrained leg, stronger when the non-dominant leg trained.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 39 women · 12 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 4 timesPubMed
A 12-week multicomponent exercise and cognitive program in midlife Hong Kong women, mean age 61.5, improved intrinsic capacity scores, chair stand times, muscle mass and cardiorespiratory fitness versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 176 women · 12 weeks · 2026PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
In 194 women aged 65 to 79 with osteopenia or osteoporosis, 9 months of dynamic multicomponent exercise improved gait speed, trunk endurance, and balance more than OsteoStrong, though both improved grip and back strength.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 194 women · 39 weeks · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
Fall-prone postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of Taijiquan and improved balance, flexibility, arm curl strength, and handgrip strength versus controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 50 women · 12 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 19 weeks of community-based high- and odd-impact, resistance and balance training and showed reduced body fat and modest bone density gains but no change in strength or balance.
No difference foundControlled trial · 22 women · 19 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
Over six weeks, postmenopausal obese women doing aquatic resistance, balance and proprioceptive training showed greater improvements in strength, balance and ankle-foot alignment than land-based exercise.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 143 women · 6 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteopenia did a 6-month weighted-vest and education program, with high adherence and improved quadriceps strength and hip bone density.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 42 women · 26 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed
In 63 postmenopausal women with low bone mass, jumping power, not muscle strength or size, was most strongly related to postural control on an unstable surface.
No difference foundCross-sectional study · 63 women · 2018PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
In 38 postmenopausal women with low bone density, 8 months of weekly OsteoStrong sessions did not improve hip or spine bone density, though some physical function measures improved.
No difference foundBefore-and-after study · 38 women · 32 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 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.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 3 women · 40 weeks · 2002PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Thirty-six postmenopausal women aged 50 to 70 did 12 weeks of hatha balance flow yoga and showed improved balance, lower-body strength, and upper-body response time versus a control period.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 36 women · 12 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed
A position statement concluded regular exercise may reduce bone loss rate and improve muscle strength and balance in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, though less effective than estrogen for bone density.
Reported an improvementOther · 2000PostmenopausalCited 23 timesPubMed
A review of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis found most studies reported exercise improved quality of life and physical domains like muscle strength and balance.
Reported an improvementOther · 2014PostmenopausalCited 11 timesPubMed
A trial protocol will compare 12 weeks of urban dance versus functional fitness against a control group for physical and psychological effects in postmenopausal women aged 40 to 59.
Direction not statedOther · 12 weeks · 2025Early postmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed