Calcium, Vitamin D May Reduce Risk Of Stress Fracture
December 9th, 2008
Calcium and vitamin D daily supplements, long associated with improved bone health, may also reduce the risk of stress fracture during exercise for active women.
Recent study findings presented at the annual Orthopaedic Research Society meeting indicate that women who did not take additional calcium and vitamin D were more likely to experience a stress fracture than women who took the vitamin and mineral supplements. The study included more than 5,200 female U.S. Navy recruits and collected data during basic exercise training.
“What really surprised us is that calcium and vitamin D supplements made a significant difference in such a short period of time. Frankly, we were not sure we would see any statistically significant results in only eight weeks,” said lead researcher Joan Lappe from Creighton University in Omaha. “It appears that supplementation with calcium and vitamin D provides a health-promoting, easy and inexpensive intervention that does not interfere with training goals.”
Vitamin D and calcium has often been recommended to reduce the risk of bone fracture for older individuals, especially those at risk of or experiencing osteoporosis. For younger women, those who participate in one sport rather than cross training are at a higher risk of experiencing stress fractures.
In the Navy recruit study, the women were participating in eight weeks of basic exercise training. All were between the ages of 17 and 35 and were randomly divided into two groups. One group was given daily supplements containing 2,000 milligrams of calcium and 800 international units of vitamin D, while the other group received a placebo.
More than 300 women experienced a stress fracture. The women who received the placebo were about 25 percent more likely to develop a stress fracture than those who were given the calcium and vitamin D supplements.
The study findings indicate that women who participate in regular athletic activities should take calcium and vitamin D daily supplements to protect against stress fractures. Vitamin D aids the body’s absorption of calcium; calcium strengthens bone formation and improves bone repair.
One of the most common and debilitating exercise overuse injuries; stress fractures develop when impact shock is absorbed by the bone rather than the muscle. Over a span of time, regular high impact exercise, such as running, can cause a crack to form in the bone. Over half of all stress fractures develop in the lower leg, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
For women who exercise regularly, recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D daily supplements are 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium citrate and 800 international units of vitamin D.
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