That 36% back-extensor gain may be the most underrated number in the LIFTMOR series. Most of the discussion centers on hip and spine density, but stronger back extensors change posture and trunk control, and forward-flexed posture is itself tied to vertebral fracture risk in the Kado data. So the back-extension strength the women built is plausibly doing fracture-relevant work at the very site the density gains were measured.
One point worth sharpening on the power side: vertical jump improved, which means these women gained something the scan cannot show. Power declines faster than maximal strength with age, and it is the power reserve that decides whether a trip becomes a fall. A stronger skeleton matters less if the body around it cannot react. Your line about fractures being a vulnerable bone meeting a force it cannot tolerate is the cleanest one-line fracture model I have read.
And worth repeating your safety caveat with teeth: one minor adverse event across 2,600 sessions is not a clearance for everyone to load heavy. Those women were screened, coached, and progressed. The lesson is not that heavy is safe for all, but that supervised heavy is safer than the alternative of never challenging bone past daily living.
That 36% back-extensor gain may be the most underrated number in the LIFTMOR series. Most of the discussion centers on hip and spine density, but stronger back extensors change posture and trunk control, and forward-flexed posture is itself tied to vertebral fracture risk in the Kado data. So the back-extension strength the women built is plausibly doing fracture-relevant work at the very site the density gains were measured.
One point worth sharpening on the power side: vertical jump improved, which means these women gained something the scan cannot show. Power declines faster than maximal strength with age, and it is the power reserve that decides whether a trip becomes a fall. A stronger skeleton matters less if the body around it cannot react. Your line about fractures being a vulnerable bone meeting a force it cannot tolerate is the cleanest one-line fracture model I have read.
And worth repeating your safety caveat with teeth: one minor adverse event across 2,600 sessions is not a clearance for everyone to load heavy. Those women were screened, coached, and progressed. The lesson is not that heavy is safe for all, but that supervised heavy is safer than the alternative of never challenging bone past daily living.
- Moses
Thank you SO much for this incredibly insightful comment and for emphasizing some of these less visible - but highly relevant points in this study!