Stronger Bones with the Low-Impact Sport of Swimming

The former president of Alteon Health and the current president of the Annalex Group, Martin Price has a broad history in law and business administration. Throughout his history with Alteon and Annalex, Martin Price has stayed fit by swimming.

Compared to weight-bearing exercises such as running, swimming places far less stress on joints. When it comes to building bone density, however, running and other weight-bearing physical activities are far more effective. In fact, the weightless nature of swimming has led some people to associate it with decreased bone density. However, a systematic review of existing studies dispelled this false assumption in 2013.

Published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, this review determined that swimming has no negative effect on overall bone mass. Although swimmers and sedentary individuals exhibit similar rates of bone mineral density, swimmers generally have higher rates of bone tissue turnover, which is generally associated with stronger bones overall.