Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Aug 7;8(8):e70119.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070119. eCollection 2013.

Is bone tissue really affected by swimming? A systematic review

Alejandro Gómez-Bruton  1 , Alejandro Gónzalez-Agüero, Alba Gómez-Cabello, José A Casajús, Germán Vicente-Rodríguez
Affiliations

Is bone tissue really affected by swimming? A systematic review

Alejandro Gómez-Bruton et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Swimming, a sport practiced in hypogravity, has sometimes been associated with decreased bone mass.

Aim: This systematic review aims to summarize and update present knowledge about the effects of swimming on bone mass, structure and metabolism in order to ascertain the effects of this sport on bone tissue.

Methods: A literature search was conducted up to April 2013. A total of 64 studies focusing on swimmers bone mass, structure and metabolism met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review.

Results: It has been generally observed that swimmers present lower bone mineral density than athletes who practise high impact sports and similar values when compared to sedentary controls. However, swimmers have a higher bone turnover than controls resulting in a different structure which in turn results in higher resistance to fracture indexes. Nevertheless, swimming may become highly beneficial regarding bone mass in later stages of life.

Conclusion: Swimming does not seem to negatively affect bone mass, although it may not be one of the best sports to be practised in order to increase this parameter, due to the hypogravity and lack of impact characteristic of this sport. Most of the studies included in this review showed similar bone mineral density values in swimmers and sedentary controls. However, swimmers present a higher bone turnover than sedentary controls that may result in a stronger structure and consequently in a stronger bone.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Prisma flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Vasikaran S, Cooper C, Eastell R, Griesmacher A, Morris HA, et al. (2011) International Osteoporosis Foundation and International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine position on bone marker standards in osteoporosis. Clin Chem Lab Med 49: 1271–1274. - PubMed
    1. Cooper C, Atkinson EJ, Jacobsen SJ, O'Fallon WM, Melton LJ, 3rd (1993) Population-based study of survival after osteoporotic fractures. Am J Epidemiol 137: 1001–1005. - PubMed
    1. Consensus development conference: diagnosis prophylaxis and treatment of osteoporosis (1993) Am J Med. 94: 646–650. - PubMed
    1. Bailey DA, Faulkner RA, McKay HA (1996) Growth, physical activity, and bone mineral acquisition. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 24: 233–266. - PubMed
    1. Nordstrom A, Karlsson C, Nyquist F, Olsson T, Nordstrom P, et al. (2005) Bone loss and fracture risk after reduced physical activity. J Bone Miner Res 20: 202–207. - PubMed

Publication types