Resistance Training Intensity, Frequency and Program Length for Bone Density in Postmenopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who work with postmenopausal women in outpatient orthopedics, women’s health, geriatrics, wellness and fall-prevention settings, and who want a clear account of what a recent pooled analysis reported about resistance training parameters and bone mineral density.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Physical therapist assistants work under the direction of a physical therapist; evaluation, diagnosis and plan-of-care decisions remain with the supervising physical therapist.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course reports the findings of a single systematic review and meta-analysis. Every figure and conclusion presented here traces to that paper.

Zhao F, Su W, Sun Y, Wang J, Lu B, Yun H. Optimal resistance training parameters for improving bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Orthop Surg Res. 2025;20(1):523. doi:10.1186/s13018-025-05890-1. PMID: 40420105. PMCID: PMC12107943.

The review was registered to the PRISMA 2020 reporting standard and used the Cochrane Handbook risk-of-bias tool. No claim in this course goes beyond what that paper reports.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the population, intervention and comparison used in this meta-analysis of resistance training and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.
2. Name the skeletal sites at which the pooled analysis reported improvement in bone mineral density and the site at which it did not.
3. State the training intensity, weekly frequency and program length the authors described as potentially optimal, and explain the limits they placed on that conclusion.

1. Start Here: what this course covers and how to complete it
2. Podcast: Resistance Training Parameters and Bone Density After Menopause (about eight minutes)
3. Postmenopausal Bone Loss and the Question Behind the Review
4. How the Reviewers Found, Judged and Combined the Trials
5. What the Pooled Results Showed, Site by Site and Parameter by Parameter
6. Where the Evidence Wobbles: Mixed Results, Small Subgroups and Publication Bias
7. From Pooled Findings to the Clinic: What the Authors Concluded
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-test and course evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course reports the findings of a single systematic review and meta-analysis. Every figure and conclusion presented here traces to that paper.
2. Zhao F, Su W, Sun Y, Wang J, Lu B, Yun H. Optimal resistance training parameters for improving bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Orthop Surg Res. 2025;20(1):523. doi:10.1186/s13018-025-05890-1. PMID: 40420105. PMCID: PMC12107943.
3. The review was registered to the PRISMA 2020 reporting standard and used the Cochrane Handbook risk-of-bias tool. No claim in this course goes beyond what that paper reports.