Comparison of bone density on the dominant and nondominant sides between healthy elderly individuals and stroke patients.
Dong Gi Min, Jae Hong Lee, Han Seong Choe and 3 others
PMID 27799687WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy elderly controls showed no side-to-side difference in heel bone density.
Stroke patients had lower bone density on the paretic side than the nonparetic side, and their side-to-side difference was larger than in controls.
Key findings
01In healthy elderly controls, heel bone density scores did not differ between dominant and nondominant sides.
02In stroke patients, nonparetic-side bone density scores were higher than paretic-side scores.
03The side-to-side difference in bone density scores was larger in stroke patients than in healthy controls.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 15 stroke patients and 20 healthy elderly controls were studied, so the finding may not generalize. Bone density was not measured before stroke, so the actual bone loss on the affected side could not be determined. The study considered weight bearing and physical stimulation but did not account for sympathetic nerve system changes, smoking, or drinking. The groups had unequal numbers and different sex distributions: 9 men and 6 women in the stroke group, and 4 men and 16 women in the control group. The study compared existing groups, so it cannot show that any treatment or exercise caused the bone-density difference.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the lower paretic bone density as proof that exercise will raise it. This was a comparison of existing groups, not a treatment study.