Topical Testosterone + Exercise No Aid for Hip Fracture Recovery in Women

TUESDAY, May 20, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Topical testosterone therapy does not significantly improve functional outcomes beyond supervised exercise training in older women recovering from a hip fracture, according to a study published online May 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Ellen F. Binder, M.D., from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues evaluated the effects of a supervised exercise program combined with topical testosterone therapy on functional outcomes in women aged 65 years or older with a recent hip fracture. The analysis included 122 women randomly assigned to exercise plus testosterone, exercise plus placebo, or enhanced usual care.

The researchers found no significant differences in the mean change in the six-minute walking distance between baseline and 24 weeks for exercise plus topical testosterone gel (53 patients; 42.7 m) versus exercise plus placebo gel (51 patients; 40.5 m) or enhanced usual care (18 patients; 37.7 m).

“It is notable that at the end of the intervention period, women assigned to exercise and testosterone had a significant reduction in the use of walking aids and greater improvement in a short-distance performance measure than women assigned to exercise and placebo,” Binder said in a statement. “This finding will need further exploration to confirm whether testosterone therapy can facilitate recovery after a hip fracture in older women.”

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.

Abstract/Full Text