Grant: Undergraduate: Mobility, musculoskeletal health and arthritis - ICS

Osteoporosis, a disease leading to fragile bones, is an important health problem, costing the Canadian health care system over $2 billion per year. It is especially common in postmenopausal women. Of all osteoporotic fractures, hip fractures are the most traumatic. Creatine monohydrate is a nutritional supplement we combined with a 1-year strength training programming that significantly improved hip bone mineral density in a small number of postmenopausal women (n=33). This proposal studies whether creatine combined with strength training can have an even larger effect on bone mineral density at the hip if given longer (2 years) in a larger group of postmenopausal women (n=240). The women will have measurements taken at 3 points over the 2 years and followed for up to a year to see if fractures are reduced. This study will provide new evidence about possible ways to reduce the sometimes devastating impacts of osteoporosis, and will be useful to health care practitioners.