A team of University of Copenhagen scientists has found that for men undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, an hour of soccer several times a week counteracts many of the negative effects of the treatment. This work was part of the Ph.D. thesis defense by Jacob Uth, a physiotherapist at the University Hospitals Centre for Health Research (UCSF) at Copenhagen University in Denmark.
“Our so-called FC Prostate study showed that just 12 weeks of football training increased leg bone mass and elevated the blood-borne bone formation markers osteocalcin and P1NP by 35 and 50%, respectively. After 32 weeks of training we observed a systematic 1-2% increase in bone mineral density at the hip and upper part of the thigh bone in the football players compared to the control group, equivalent to bones 2-4 years younger, ” said Peter Krustrup in the November 23, 2015 news release. Krustrup is Jacob Uth’s supervisor and Professor of Team Sport and Health in the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports at Copenhagen University.
“The changes in bone mass in the legs of the football group show a significant correlation with the number of times they accelerate and brake. This gives an indication that the effect is linked to the specific activity that we see in football, where there is interval running with a lot of accelerating and braking which place great stress on the bone tissue, and that is what makes them stronger, ” says Uth.
Professor Krustrup told OTW, “Several years of research into the musculoskeletal effects of football led to this work. Our findings regarding positive bone effects of recreational football for prostate cancer patients are very consistent with our previous findings for untrained young men (Krustrup et al. 2010), untrained young women (Helge et al. 2010), middle-aged women with hypertension (Mohr et al. 2015) and elderly healthy men (Helge et al. 2014).”
“In these studies we have seen minimal effects for swimming (Mohr et al. 2015), continuous running and interval running (Krustrup et al. 2010 and Helge et al. 2010). We would expect little effects of cycling too, as this is not weight-bearing.”
“We are currently investigating the fitness and health effects of Team Handball, Basketball and Volleyball, and we hypothesize that these team sports have some of the same movements (sprints, accelerations, decelerations, turns, jumps, changes of direction, tackles, dribbles, shots) with a high musculoskeletal impact, with positive effects on muscle mass and bone density.”
“Our current research using football as a model is looking into the fitness and health effects of football session for school children (including effects on heart and bone health), the cardiovascular and metabolic effects of football for middle-aged women with type 2 diabetes and the effects of football for patients with other types of cancer than prostate cancer.”
“The most surprising thing about this study is that the men really enjoy playing, and still are three years later, and that the FC Prostate study [results] have led to a nationwide implementation, where local football clubs around all the big hospitals in Denmark are now offering football training for men with prostate cancer.”
