Rucking + AlgaeCal=BMD -- Anyone else have this experience?

I looked into the supporting supplement with AlgaeCal. The only thing I found that kept me away from it was the fact it can cause inaccurate bone density results showing you are better than you really are.

Calcium combined with strontium is controversial because it has shown to cause inflated DEXA readings, mainly because strontium absorbs and blocks X-rays. This appears as a “higher bone density” in DEXA readings. The problem with strontium is that it may reduce your bone’s overall strength, as it primarily strengthens the bones outer core. Recommend to discuss with your provider the use of strontium for bone strength.

I use HRT and a Strontium supplement. My BMD has increased as well as my trabecular bone score has improved. So my bone quality is headed in good direction. I have not had any fractures to date.

I agree with some other posts here that strontium citrate is likely not helping much if at all. It does make DXA BMD look better because strontium replaces some of the calcium in your bones and it is a denser element than calcium. I have not seen any clinical trials for strontium citrate and not one of the top doctors from around the world that present at the World Congress on Osteoporosis has mentioned it for the past 4 years that I have attended. There are positive studies for improved BMD for strontium ranelate, but that is a different compound. I believe it was discontinued due to adverse events in Europe and was never approved in the US. I'm not saying that is does not reduce fracture risk, I'm just letting you know that there are no studies and most doctors are not recommending it as a treatment.

As for rucking (weighted belts / backpacks), there was a session on exercise at last months Santa Fe Bone Symposium where the presenter was not convinced it was a good idea for bone building. This seems to be the majority consensus from the circles I'm in. That said, any exercise is great for reducing fracture risk. Keeping strong and flexible with good balance reduces your risk of falling and hitting the ground with impact.

@michaellavacot , and others, I lean a little the other way on Strontium. I read 28 papers or other mostly doctor/researcher sources over 3 months. I suspect that Strontium Citrate does help bone strength. But I do not take it.

The "false" better BMD DEXA readings are not noted in all sources of information. Notably to me is that algaecal strontium supplement provider has something like a money-back guarantee that your DEXA will be better if you take it for some number of months. No adjustment for the higher atomic number of strontium in your "better" DEXA reading. I have read individual accounts from women about supposedly improved DEXA readings but again without any adjustments for the higher density of strontium.

I decided not to take strontium citrate for two reasons: 1) I am trying other interventions, especially HRT and LIFTMOR type weight lifting. I need to see the true DEXA outcome for those after two years and I'm on month 10 now. 2) I have seen no evidence of clinician doctors who adjust DEXA for strontium intake and if/when I do want anabolic bone drugs then I do not want to be disqualified because "false" DEXA readings make my bones appear too good when the are not. Strontium stays in your bones for years after you stop taking it, so this is not a quickly reversed decision.

What would likely tip me the other way to start me on strontium citrate: Having much worse T-scores than my current -2.x and not getting results from other interventions AND/OR running out of options as @cathyf31 has happening to her.

Normally I try to give references for my posts, but the strontium information is all over the map and I don't want to provide 20+ links. Some of the research papers are really dense and you need to read carefully as even a few of those naively do not adjust for the higher atomic number of Strontium. Still here is a good overview even though it is from an competing supplement provider. I know nothing about the products that they do offer. But this provider could easily also offer a strontium supplement, and they do well at explaining why they do NOT:
https://solaria.bio/blogs/articles/strontium-citrate-supplements-for-bone-health

@kfhoz - You bring up a good point that I had not really thought about. If you take strontium and in helps improve your T-Scores to better than -2.5, then it could be really tough to get insurance approval for other medications, unless you break a bone. Strontium citrate is a big leap of faith for sure, especially without any clinical trial data showing fracture reduction.

BTW, I'm a big fan of HRT and resistance training. I think if your T-Scores are not too bad and you are in good shape, I say give it a try. But know that if you stop HRT, your gains will be lot pretty quickly. I have seen a trial where HRT gains over three years are lost in one year when discontinued. I have heard that BMD gains from resistance training will also be lost if stopped.

@michaellavacot I agree with all in your post. A few notes that you most likely already know, but others reading this thread should see:

Yes, best for your bones to never stop HRT. But the fracture curves are weird for stopping. Here is an excerpt from a key paper in the prestigious Lancet that puts it well:
Discontinuation of menopausal hormone therapy and risk of fracture
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(25)00048-0/fulltext
EXCERPT: " ... after discontinuation of menopausal hormone therapy, fracture risk increases steeply, usually to above the levels of comparable never-users, and then rises less quickly relative to never-users to become again notably reduced by comparison in older age. ... "

Scroll down and look at this enlightening graph :
https://www.thelancet.com/cms/10.1016/j.lanhl.2025.100729/asset/b09a79c2-de8f-45b9-ac87-aba67c41ac2d/main.assets/gr4_lrg.jpg
Dr. Doug Lucas discusses this paper in depth in his YouTube of 2025-08-21 titled "The Shocking Truth About Stopping HRT & Osteoporosis Risk". I was glad to see this before I started HRT so I could go into it eyes-wide-open.