[Effect of eight weeks of aerobic and progressive exercises on changes of estrogen hormone and effective factors on bone mass in menopaused sedentary women]

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of eight weeks of aerobic and progressive exercises on blood estrogen and other factors affecting bone density in postmenopausal women. Twenty postmenopausal women, with average of age and height and weight of 51/05 +/- 0/22yr, 164/5 +/- 1/09cm and 67/30 +/- 0/85 kg respectively, who had no regular daily physical activity, voluntarily participated in the study. Subjects were randomly divided into two the experimental and the control, groups. Experimental group exercises included eight-weeks of aerobic interval running three sessions per week, with progressive intensity and time. Blood and urine samples were taken before starting the exercise period, to calculate levels of estrogen, calcitonin, paratormon hormones, calcium and phosphorus from the former, and levels of calcium and phosphorus from the lather. Eight weeks of progressive and aerobic exercises caused a significant change in the amount of estrogen [17.6 +/- 4.22 to 27.9 +/- 8.64], parathormon [20.8 +/- 3.58 to 19.2 +/- 1.98] hormones, blood calcium [9.44 +/- 0.24 to 8.8 +/- 0.71], phosphorus [3.87 +/- 0.38 to 4.23 +/- 0.25] and urine phosphorus [61.22 +/- 4.43 to 42.16 +/- 10.06], whereas no significant change was seen in the amount of calcitonin hormone [3.94 +/- 3.36 to 4.84 +/- 1.96] and urine calcium [9.74 +/- 0.68 to 9.35 +/- 1.30]. Based on the results, it seems that long progressive physical exercises, especially weight bearing ones, can be effective in increasing the estrogen level, thereby preventing ostheoprothesis, and also preserving bone salts [calcium and blood phosphorus], by causing hormonal changes effective on these salts[calcitonin and parathormone]