Bone turnover increases during supervised treadmill walking in Thai postmenopausal women

•Bone turnover increases after supervised treadmill walking in Thai postmenopausal women.•Moderate intensity aerobic treadmill walking thrice a week for 3 months could not suppress bone turnover rate in Thai postmenopausal women.•The 3-month supervised treadmill walking improves lower limb strength and endurance in Thai postmenopausal women.

IntroductionTreadmill walking is a cheap and attainable form of exercise, which carries a low injury risk and confers other health benefit. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of 3-month treadmill walking on biochemical bone markers in Thai postmenopausal women.Material and methodsThai postmenopausal women participated in a 3-month supervised treadmill walking program. The program consisted of treadmill walking, the intensity of which was 55–70% of maximal heart rate, with duration of 30 min per day, at a frequency of 3 days a week. Crosslinked C–terminal telopeptides of type I collagen (CTX–I) and N–terminal propeptides of type I procollagen (PINP) level were measured at baseline and at 1 week after 3-month training.ResultsEighteen women completed the training program. The average age of patients was 59.39 ± 4.18 years. The average period after menopause was 9.28 ± 6.52 years. CTX–I and PINP levels at baseline were 0.43 ± 0.14 and 52.15 ± 13.43 ng/ml. CTX–I and PINP levels after 3-month training were 0.80 ± 0.26 and 66.77 ± 22.82 ng/ml. Bone resorption and formation markers were significantly increased after treadmill walking (p < 0.01).ConclusionBone turnover increases after 3-month supervised treadmill walking in Thai postmenopausal women.