In the authors' words
“This RCT showed that short-term recreational team handball practice had an impact on bone turnover and was effective for improving bone health and postural balance in postmenopausal women without previous experience of the sport, hence potentially helping to reduce the risk of falls and fractures.”
What was measured
- Bone density Reported an improvement
- Balance and falls Reported an improvement
- Body fat and weight Direction not stated
About the study
- Type
- Randomised trial
- Who took part
- Postmenopausal, sedentary at entry
- How many
- 67
- How long
- 16 weeks
- Exercise
- Other aerobic exercise
- Cited
- 20 times, per Europe PMC
- PubMed ID
- 33450430
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.
Similar studies
- A meta-analysis of 16 trials in older postmenopausal women found whole-body vibration raised lumbar spine bone density while aerobic exercise lowered it, with no overall effect on femoral neck density.
- A meta-analysis of 53 studies in women over 60 found exercise training increased bone mineral density at the femoral neck, lumbar spine and trochanter, with no change in total hip or total body.
- A meta-analysis of 101 trials with 5,697 postmenopausal women found aerobic training reduced fat mass and resistance training increased muscle mass, with combined training offering both benefits.
- A meta-analysis of 39 RCTs in postmenopausal women found exercise training improved waist circumference, triglycerides, HDL, glucose, and blood pressure, with combined training most effective.