Archery makes young people's bones stronger
1 study · 33 archers measured
The summary today
There is a single study, and it runs against the claim. Thirty-three Malaysian boys with an average age of 15: eleven archers with about three years of practice, eleven badminton players and eleven who play no sport. Bone speed of sound, an index of bone density measured by ultrasound at the radius and tibia on the dominant side, does not differ between the three groups, and the archers cannot be told apart from the badminton players on any of the study's measures. The authors expected an advantage at least in badminton, a sport of jumps and impacts, and do not find one even there: in their view three or four years of practice are not enough. The null result carries little weight, though, because eleven boys per group cannot rule out a small difference, the sample size was calculated on muscle strength rather than bone, the values appear only in a chart, and ultrasound is not densitometry. What can be said today is that nobody has shown an effect of archery on young people's bones, and that the only study to look for one did not find it.
Also phrased as: "archery and bones"; "bone density in archers"; "sport and bones in young people"; "archery strengthens bones"
In practice
Among parents and in youth courses you hear that archery, like any sport, is good for growing bones, and that drawing the bow strengthens the arms and shoulders right down to the skeleton.
Evidence
-
2024
Against Archers Published later
33 Malaysian boys aged 13 to 18, 15.1 years on average, 11 per group: archers with about three years of practice, badminton players and non-athletes. Bone speed of sound, measured with a sonometer at the distal radius and mid-shaft tibia on the dominant side, does not differ between the three groups. The values are shown only in a chart, with no figures in the text.
Body composition, bone health status and isokinetic muscular performance among Malaysian young male badminton players, archers and non-athletes · Rou Xian Goh, Foong Kiew Ooi, Chee Keong Chen, Tong King Ming Irene, Mohd Rahimi Che Jusoh, Rosniwati Ghafar, Jiun Sien Lau
-
2024
Context Archers Published later
In the same study there is no significant difference between archers and badminton players in height, weight, fat, lean mass, bone or measured strength. Compared with the non-athletes, the archers are heavier (p = 0.039) and have more lean mass (p = 0.021).
Body composition, bone health status and isokinetic muscular performance among Malaysian young male badminton players, archers and non-athletes · Rou Xian Goh, Foong Kiew Ooi, Chee Keong Chen, Tong King Ming Irene, Mohd Rahimi Che Jusoh, Rosniwati Ghafar, Jiun Sien Lau
-
2024
Context Archers Published later
The sample of eleven per group was calculated on a difference in muscle power, not in bone density. The authors attribute the null result to the length of practice, three years on average for archery and four for badminton.
Body composition, bone health status and isokinetic muscular performance among Malaysian young male badminton players, archers and non-athletes · Rou Xian Goh, Foong Kiew Ooi, Chee Keong Chen, Tong King Ming Irene, Mohd Rahimi Che Jusoh, Rosniwati Ghafar, Jiun Sien Lau
Status history
- 1990 Not studied Nobody in the registry's bibliography had measured the bone health of young archers against their peers: the question has no data.
- 2024 Contradicted The only study arrives: thirty-three Malaysian boys aged 13 to 18, eleven archers with about three years of practice, eleven badminton players and eleven who play no sport. Bone speed of sound at the radius and tibia, an index of bone health, does not differ between the three groups. It is a single cross-sectional study, with eleven people per group and the values shown only in a chart, and it runs against the claim: there is little evidence, and it points the other way.
Related
Related articles
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Archery makes young people's bones stronger (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/archery-bone-health-young-people
@misc{campagna2026_tiroossagiovani,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Archery makes young people's bones stronger},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/archery-bone-health-young-people},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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