Hip fractures, typically a results of a fall, are probably the most severe kind of osteoporotic fracture as a result of they’re accompanied by appreciable ache, lack of muscle and bone power, lowered mobility and independence with each day actions, and elevated threat for future fractures and dying. Greater than 200,000 American ladies yearly expertise hip fractures, and as much as three-quarters of them by no means totally regain their means to renew regular actions like strolling, even after present process weeks of train rehabilitation.
In a urgent effort to check new therapies, researchers carried out a scientific trial to see whether or not making use of a testosterone gel with train might enhance perform and mobility in these sufferers. Testosterone is a hormone current in all ladies that declines with age and it has results on muscle; due to this fact, it was hypothesized that it might increase the advantages of train through the restoration interval.
Outcomes printed in the present day within the journal JAMA Community Open discovered that testosterone gel didn’t enhance bodily perform in comparison with a placebo in older ladies who have been participating in a supervised train program and recovering from a hip fracture. Testosterone remedy did seem to have some optimistic results on short-distance mobility, which can require additional research to verify.
“Hip fractures can have an effect on many elements of perform in older folks and require a number of methods to revive perform,” mentioned research co-author and one of many research principal investigators, Jay Magaziner, Ph.D., MSHyg, Professor of Epidemiology within the College of Maryland Faculty of Medication (UMSOM). “This research thought-about two approaches: the usage of testosterone gel and excessive depth train. What we discovered is that the addition of testosterone to train shouldn’t be a helpful methodology of bettering bodily perform on this group of girls.”
The research, known as STEP-HI, concerned 129 ladies 65 and older residing in the neighborhood who had a current surgical restore of a hip fracture and experiencing mobility impairment. It’s the largest such research of testosterone administration to ladies following a fracture of the hip and was carried out at UMSOM and 7 different scientific websites all through the nation.
“Having a hip fracture is a sentinel occasion for sufferers and their households,” mentioned research co-author and scientific web site principal investigator Denise Orwig, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology and Gerontology at UMSOM who has spent greater than 25 years doing analysis to establish methods to maximise purposeful restoration after hip fracture. “Whereas I am disillusioned that testosterone didn’t result in the enhancements we have been anticipating, the outcomes are additional proof of how highly effective train may be in serving to hip fracture sufferers obtain restoration of perform.”
Ellen Binder, MD, lead research principal investigator and Professor of Medication within the Division of Basic Medication and Geriatrics on the Washington College Faculty of Medication, identified one vibrant spot within the research findings relating to the usage of testosterone gel: “It’s notable that on the finish of the intervention interval, ladies assigned to train and testosterone had a big discount in the usage of strolling aids and larger enchancment in a short-distance efficiency measure than ladies assigned to train and placebo. This discovering will want additional exploration to verify whether or not testosterone remedy can facilitate restoration after a hip fracture in older ladies.”
Extra info:
Ellen F. Binder et al, Combining Train Coaching and Testosterone Remedy in Older Ladies After Hip Fracture, JAMA Community Open (2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10512
Quotation:
Utilizing testosterone gel to deal with ladies recovering from hip fractures gives no added advantages, scientific trial finds (2025, Could 24)
retrieved 24 Could 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-05-testosterone-gel-women-recovering-hip.html
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