The Bone Clinic

27/08/2026

Not specifically a bone post, but I suspect followers will nevertheless be interested because it is exercise-related. Ever since one illustrious scientist declared "Sitting is the new smoking", there has been lively discussion on just how bad sitting is for us and whether and how much exercise can overcome the negative effects. For a while it appeared that no amount of exercise could overcome the increased risk of mortality from the prolonged daily sitting most of us do, but then one study provided some hope. It showed that the benefit depends on how much sitting and the level of intensity of the exercise. The below plot shows the more energy you put into exercise, the less bad long periods of sitting are for you (left hand end of the plot) but that milder forms of physical activity are unlikely to overcome the effects of sitting, especially the longer you sit (right hand end). (To understand the plot, a hazard ratio of 1 is the baseline - no increased risk. A hazard ratio of 1.1 means a 10% greater risk, and so on.) Distilling down to the practical implications, around 60–75 min of moderate intensity activity per day is probably necessary to receive protective benefit against the risks of prolonged sitting. In science, the devil is always in the detail. (And yes, ONERO is one of those good higher intensity exercises towards the left hand end of the plot, but you need to be doing exercise that makes you puff and sweat a bit [aerobic] on the other 5 days as well.)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27475271/

24/08/2026

Attention all tax payers. Thanks to Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) for commissioning an outstanding economic evaluation of the benefit of exercise physiology led therapy for 6 chronic health conditions in Australia. This much needed report provides numbers that will astonish even the most dedicated supporter of exercise physiology! "$1.09 billion in health system and productivity improvement savings ($940 million in health system savings alone) over 3 years!" Next step? Medicare reimbursement of exercise physiology services. The cost benefit is there in black and white (actually purple and white ;) ).
https://essa.org.au/Web/Resources/Reports/economic-value-of-exercise-physiology-in-australia-2026.aspx

For the full report go to:
chrome-extensio://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://essa.org.au/Common/Uploaded%20files/Reports/essa-economic-report-2026.pdf

18/08/2026

Live in Brisbane and looking for a few hours of work a week in a friendly team?

We are looking for a casual data entry clerk/receptionist for approximately 12 hours per week at The Bone Clinic. Must be available Fridays and one other day (day negotiable). Must have current experience in data entry, general clerical duties and customer service. Could suit skilled retiree not quite ready to do nothing. Please submit your CV to [email protected]

13/08/2026

What to do when someone mis-uses your research to falsely claim it shows evidence their product works....hmmm.
All I can do is state unequivocally that our LIFTMOR study DOES NOT provide evidence that Osteostrong works. Osteostrong was NOT TESTED in the LIFTMOR trial. In fact, when we DID test it in the men's LIFTMOR-M trial, we found that it DIDN'T work and, more to the point, there were 5 fractures in the Osteostrong group.
Using clever wording that '152 peer-reviewed studies support the underlying bone-loading principles' is marketing terminology for, 'we don't have any high quality evidence to show our product works so we are just going to reference all these mechanical loading studies that other people did, none of which tested our device, and we hope you won't figure that out.'
I tend to let people do their own thing, but dragging our quality research down into the muck is where I draw the line.

02/08/2026

I found this recent paper to be a little worrisome - the investigators were attempting to understand why 2 similar studies (one Swedish, one American) reported large differences in the proportion of people with atypical femur fractures (AFF) who had a history of taking bisphosphonates (BPs). BPs are a common osteoporosis medication shown to improve bone mass in many people. Unfortunately (and somewhat ironically), for a small proportion of people, BPs actually cause AFFs - atypical, because they are not typical osteoporotic hip fractures.

The investigators didn't discover the reason for the discrepancy between the studies but more concerning to me is the fact that their manual review of the medical and pharmacy records of the American AFF group revealed BP exposure was *much higher* than originally reported.

Swedish cohort: 172 patients, 38 had no recorded BP use (22.1%)
US cohort: 306 patients, 29 originally classified BP-naïve (9.5%), reclassified to 9 BP-naïve (2.9%).

This misclassification of BP exposure means there may be a much stronger link between BPs and AFF than previously reported, at least in California. (The differences between populations remains a mystery.)

The investigators concluded that 'Misclassification of BP exposure occurs and can substantially affect reported rates of BP-naïve AFF...'.

Hmmm, ya think? Science is only as good as its data, guys. It behoves us to collect and report it accurately. Adverse events are just as important as effeciacy findings to the people actually taking the drugs.

Summary We examined if inaccuracies in reported BP treatment in two large cohorts could explain the wide discrepancy observed between different patient cohorts with atypical femur fractures. Assessing BP treatment through manual review of medical and pharmacy records increased the discrepancy, indic...

19/07/2026

* I DO NOT ENDORSE THIS PAPER*
I always worry that people with little to no scientific training are at the mercy of journalistic reporting of study findings. Journalists themselves often have no scientific training, or expertise in health or medicine. When unqualified to critically interpret scientific findings, journos typically just report the researchers' interpretation of their findings. Sadly that is not always expert or clear-eyed either. Often that is because the researchers themselves are not experts in the tissue or disease they are reporting on (believe it or not, that happens a lot) but sometimes it is due to actual bias. People may be trying to sell a product, but sometimes researchers are simply desperate to get a scientific publication (it helps your career). Either way, the public loses. The following paper I saw highlighted as a story on MSN is an example of damaging reporting of scientific findings. In this case, they are suggesting a certain nutritional intervention in addition to an exercise program will improve bone mass- something that many patients will find appealing. However, there are numerous problems with this study, not the least of which is that no-one is changing DXA-derived BMD in 8 weeks. So in terms of bone mass, there is nothing to see here.
Read the fine print folks.

Immediate postexercise milk and soymilk supplementation enhanced upper bone density in older adults. Milk led to greater gains in handgrip strength than soy milk. Whole foods protein sources offer a practical way to support musculoskeletal health. ...

16/07/2026

When people think about food for bone, they understandably focus on the mineral that is packed into bone to make them hard - calcium. But the equally important substance also packed into bone that makes them tough (bendable without breaking) is collagen... which is a protein. The general rule is we should aim for around 1gm/Kg body weight protein per day. If you don't know how to figure that out, one of our dietitians can help (telehealth appointments available). In the meantime, here are some protein food suggestions.

A helpful guide of high protein foods for healthy bones 🙌 See our Full Protein Food List on our website here:https://healthybonesaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hba-protein-food-list.pdf

14/07/2026

I always feel like a proud parent when a student gets their first publication. Congratulations to Adam Daniels for publishing the results of his BAILS study examining lumbar bone stress injuries in Australian youth cricket bowlers. Who would have thought almost a third of his sample have suffered a LBSI in their life and over 16% fractured during a single cricket season he followed! That is not the way to keep kids in cricket! Adam is now doing a PhD at Griffith University looking at ways to prevent LBSI in cricket bowlers of all ages and both sexes by monitoring workload with a very cool wearable device. Believe me, it is not as easy as it sounds.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2026.06.017

12/06/2026

The age-old messaging around exercise for health outcomes is: 'Aerobic exercise (walking, running, cycling, swimming) for your heart. Resistance training for your muscles." In fact there has been evidence around for years suggesting that resistance training is good for cardiovascular health, but exercise studies are often not long enough to really detect long-term benefit. This latest paper fills that gap. Our own evidence certainly shows our bone-targeted ONERO® improves blood pressure, so we are delighted to see this new work confirming the benefits. Another tick for ONERO®. Good for your bones. Good for your heart. How good!
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41572515/

11/06/2026

Don't forget, protein is important for general health, including bone. Dairy has protein so you can kill 2 birds with one stone!

New Protein Fact Sheet now available, explaining importance for muscle and bone and the issue of sarcopenia in older adults. Protein Food List also available. 🥦🍗🥜

See here:https://healthybonesaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hba-fact-sheet-protein.pdf