Role of sport and exercise in the maintenance of female bone health.

Osteoporosis most commonly affects postmenopausal women, placing them at a significant risk for fractures. The strategies for preventing osteoporotic fractures are maximizing peak bone mass, counteracting age- and menopause-related bone loss, minimizing the increase in spinal kyphosis, and preventing falls. Thus, the aim of sport and exercise appears to differ among ages in the maintenance of bone health in females. Given that maximizing peak bone mass is the most important strategy for preventing fractures in later life, interventions may therefore be needed before the menarche (during the growth spurt) in children. The efficacy of sport activity and exercise in all strategies has been established, although there is no evidence that sport and exercise are able to prevent hip fractures. However, sport activity and exercise across the life span of the average female should be encouraged in the maintenance of bone health.