Growth, Exercise, NUtrition and Development Research Group, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
PLoS One. 2013 Aug 7;8(8):e70119. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070119. eCollection 2013.
Swimming, a sport practiced in hypogravity, has sometimes been associated with decreased bone mass.
This systematic review aims to summarize and update present knowledge about the effects of swimming on bone mass, structure and metabolism in order to ascertain the effects of this sport on bone tissue.
A literature search was conducted up to April 2013. A total of 64 studies focusing on swimmers bone mass, structure and metabolism met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review.
It has been generally observed that swimmers present lower bone mineral density than athletes who practise high impact sports and similar values when compared to sedentary controls. However, swimmers have a higher bone turnover than controls resulting in a different structure which in turn results in higher resistance to fracture indexes. Nevertheless, swimming may become highly beneficial regarding bone mass in later stages of life.
Swimming does not seem to negatively affect bone mass, although it may not be one of the best sports to be practised in order to increase this parameter, due to the hypogravity and lack of impact characteristic of this sport. Most of the studies included in this review showed similar bone mineral density values in swimmers and sedentary controls. However, swimmers present a higher bone turnover than sedentary controls that may result in a stronger structure and consequently in a stronger bone.
游泳是一项在低重力环境下进行的运动，有时与骨量减少有关。
本系统综述旨在总结和更新目前关于游泳对骨量、结构和代谢影响的知识，以确定该运动对骨组织的影响。
文献检索截至 2013 年 4 月。共有 64 项研究聚焦于游泳运动员的骨量、结构和代谢，符合纳入标准并纳入综述。
通常观察到，游泳运动员的骨矿物质密度低于从事高冲击运动的运动员，与久坐不动的对照组相似。然而，游泳运动员的骨转换率高于对照组，导致不同的结构，进而导致骨折指数的抵抗力更高。尽管如此，游泳在生命后期对骨量可能非常有益。
游泳似乎不会对骨量产生负面影响，尽管由于该运动的低重力和缺乏冲击力的特点，它可能不是增加这一参数的最佳运动之一。本综述中包含的大多数研究显示，游泳运动员和久坐不动的对照组的骨矿物质密度值相似。然而，游泳运动员的骨转换率高于久坐不动的对照组，这可能导致更强的结构，从而导致更强的骨骼。
