Handball boosts bone health, postural balance

Playing handball, even as a short-term recreational team practice, appears to have a positive effect on bone turnover and helps improve bone health and postural balance in postmenopausal women, a study has found.

The study included 67 postmenopausal women without previous experience of handball. Their mean age was 68.3 years, with a stature of 156.9 cm, body mass of 65.6 kg, body fat of 40.9 percent, and VO2peak of 25.2 mL.min-1.kg-1.

The participants were randomly assigned to groups participating in team handball (n=41) or instructed to continue with their habitual physical activity (n=26) for 16 weeks. During the intervention period, women in the handball group performed two to three 60-min training sessions per week.

Assessments for bone mineral density (BMD) and content (BMC), biochemical bone formation (osteocalcin [OC] and procollagen type-1 amino-terminal propeptide [P1NP]), resorption markers (carboxy-terminal type-1 collagen crosslinks [CTX]), postural balance, body fat, and lean mass were conducted at baseline and postintervention.

Results showed a significant time-by-group interaction (p≤0.02) for lumbar spine BMD (an increase of 1.5 percent) and BMC (an increase of 2.3 percent), P1NP (an improvement of 37.6 percent), OC (an improvement of 41.9 percent), and postural balance (a decrease of 7 percent in the incidence of falls) in the handball group. These changes were absent in the control group.

The findings suggest the potential of playing handball in helping to reduce the risk of fall accidents and fractures.