Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Daily supplementation with 2000 mg calcium and 800 IU vitamin D reduces the incidence of stress fractures by 20% in female military recruits during basic training.
Female recruits in high-intensity training programs should consider taking 2000 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D daily to significantly lower their risk of stress fractures. This intervention is safe, does not interfere with training, and can prevent a substantial number of injuries.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
Using intention-to-treat analysis by including all enrolled subjects, we found that the calcium and vitamin D group had a 20% lower incidence of SFx than the control group (5.3% versus 6.6%, respectively, p < 0.0026 for Fisher’s exact test).
Why this rating
Large-scale (N=5201), randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with intention-to-treat analysis.
Source
Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation Decreases Incidence of Stress Fractures in Female Navy Recruits
Joan M. Lappe et al. · Journal of Bone and Mineral Research · 2008
rct · n=5201Cited 461×
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