Prior to the past decade, it was thought that decreased bone density was an inevitable result of aging. Sweden and Norway have among the highest incidence of fractures related to osteoporosis and the occurrence has increased. It has become axiomatic that physical training is of benefit to the skeletal structure. This study attempts to determine, by surveying the scientific literature, whether there is support for strength training having an effect on bone density of postmenopausal women at risk for osteoporosis. The search was limited to randomized controlled studies published between 1992 and 2002 in PubMed and SweMed+. The internal validity of the studies was graded according to a list of criteria where studies, deemed of high quality, met five out of 10 criteria. The internal validity was the basis of the conclusion. Three studies satisfied the inclusion criteria and were deemed to be of high quality. The studies demonstrated a significant positive effect of strength training on maintaining or increasing bone density primarily of the spine and hip compared to control groups. Analysis of the results strongly suggests that strength training is an effective and achievable method of maintaining or increasing bone density in post-menopausal women.

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