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More calcium, vitamin D may help women avoid injury

OMAHA, Neb. - Very active young women who took higher-than-recommended doses of calcium and vitamin D supplements for eight weeks had fewer stress fractures than women who were given dummy pills, a study of naval recruits showed.

Experts called the results encouraging and of interest to young female athletes as well as women in the military.

"What really surprised us is that calcium/vitamin D supplements made a significant difference in such a short period of time," said lead researcher Joan Lappe of Creighton University. "Frankly, we were not sure we would see any statistically significant results in only eight weeks."

The body uses calcium to build and repair bones. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium.

The study, funded by the Department of Defense, was presented recently at the Orthopaedic Research Society's annual meeting in San Diego. Roughly 3,700 women, ages 17 to 35, training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Ill., participated in the full study.

Stress fractures are the most common type of injury seen in military trainees, particularly women, and are also prevalent in some athletes. They form when the bone doesn't have time to heal from rigorous activity, and some can lead to chronic pain.

The study found that women who took 2,000 milligrams of calcium and 800 international units of vitamin D daily had 27 percent fewer stress fractures than those who didn't.

The government recommends 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 200 IUs of vitamin D daily for women ages 19 to 50. However, young women generally don't get enough of either.

[Last modified February 15, 2007, 01:19:16]