Is Cycling Actually Detrimental to Bone Health?

An article by Nichols and Rauh in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (vol. 25, no. 3, March, pp. 727-734, 2011) showed that hours of weekly bicycling exercise, in the absence of weight-resisted or impact exercise may actually be worse for bone density than no exercise at all. While such exercise seems fine for keeping the heart, lungs, and circulatory system healthy, and bodyweight under control, the evidence shows that it is a poor exercise for bone health.

Experimental Procedure
The study tracked, over a 7-year period, bone density in the lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck (segment of the thigh bone adjacent to the pelvis) as well as body fat and lean tissue measurements of 19 Master’s competitive cyclists and 18 non-athletes, who averaged 51 years of age at the start of the study.

Results

• At both the initial and final testing, the cyclists had consistently lower bone mineral density at all sites measured than the non-athletes.
• After statistical adjustment for changes in body mass index, lean mass, calcium intake and exercise habits, the cyclists lost more bone mineral density over the 7 years than the non-athletes.
• The subjects who reported doing weight-bearing or impact exercise lost significantly less bone density in the spine and femoral neck than those who did not do such exercise.
• At initial testing, 84% of the cyclists and 50% of the non-athletes met the criterion for osteopenia (subnormal bone density).
• At the final testing, 90% of the cyclists and 61% of the non-athletes met the criterion for osteopenia.
• Six of the cyclists but only one of the non-athletes had full-blown osteoporosis (critically low bone-density) by the end of the study.
• Even when they were made aware of bone-density problems, very few of the subjects changed their diets to include more calcium.

Bottom Line
The evidence provides a strong indication that cycling is not beneficial to bone health. If done in the absence of weight-resisted exercise (e.g. squat, deadlift) or impact exercise (e.g. running, gymnastics, dance) bone loss is likely to result. One hypothesis is that the lack of impact or weight on the bone fails to stimulate mineralization, while calcium-containing sweat is lost during heavy cycling exercise. Another possibility is that endurance exercise tends to suppress testosterone, which helps maintain bone mass. Older competitive cyclists are at great risk for bone fracture because of their low bone density and high risk of bicycle crashes. Weight-resisted or impact exercise should be started when people are young because that is when bone is most readily mineralized.