Bone and skeletal muscle work in coordination to maintain the function of the musculoskeletal system, in which skeletal muscle contraction drives the movement of the bone lever system while bone provides insert sites for skeletal muscle through the bone-muscle junction. Existing evidence suggests that factors secreted by skeletal muscle and bone mediate the interaction between the two tissues. Herein, we focused on the relationship between skeletal muscle and bone and the underlying mechanism of the interaction. Exercise can promote bone strength and secrete osteocalcin and insulin-like growth factor I into the blood, thus improving muscle quality. In addition, exercise can also promote myostatin, interleukin-6, Irisin, and apelin in muscles to enter the blood so that they can act on bones to maintain the balance between bone absorption and bone formation. There is a special regulatory axis interleukin-6/osteocalcin between myokines and osteokines, which is mainly influenced by exercise. Therefore, we pay attention to the important factors in the bone-muscle intersection that are affected by exercise, which were found or their functions were expanded, which strengthened the connection between organs of the whole body, highlighting the importance of exercise and contributing to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of osteoporosis and sarcopenia in the clinic.

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is highly prevalent in athletes. The objective of this study was to assess the therapeutic efficacy of daily tangeretin combined with whey protein supplementation over a period of 4 weeks in professional athletes with EIB. Using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, paired, randomized trial design, a cohort of 30 professional athletes with EIB, consisting of 14 females and 16 males, was divided into two groups: the tangeretin combined with whey protein intervention group (TIG), and the placebo control group (PCG). Both the TIG and PCG underwent exercise challenge tests (ECT) and VO_2max tests before (ECT₁, V1) and after (ECT₂, V2) the intervention. Blood (eosinophils, neutrophils, and basophils) and serum (interleukin-5, IL-5; interleukin-8, IL-8; Clara cell secretory protein-16, CC16; immunoglobulin E, IgE) levels were measured early in the morning of ECT₁ and ECT₂, respectively. Lung function was assessed immediately before and post-ECT immediately. Tangeretin combined with whey protein use for 4 weeks attenuated the decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁) post trials (∆FEV₁(ECT1-ECT2): mean (SD) TIG −7.51(6.9)% vs. PCG −2.33(11.49)%, p = 0.013). Tangeretin also substantially attenuated IL-5 concentration (∆IL-5(T₁-T₅): Tangeretin −19.4% vs Placebo + 8.37%, p = 0.022); IL-8 concentration (∆IL-8(T₁-T₅): Tangeretin −17.28% vs Placebo + 6.1%, p = 0.012); CC16 concentration (∆CC16(T₁-T₅): Tangeretin −11.77% vs Placebo + 24.19%); and IgE concentration in the serum (∆IgE(T₁-T₅): Tangeretin −24.1% vs Placebo −3.9%), and significantly decreased neutrophil count (∆N(T₁-T₅): Tangeretin −11.34% vs Placebo + 0.3%) and eosinophil count in blood (∆N(T₁-T₅): Tangeretin −38.5% vs Placebo + 4.35%). Compared with V1, VO_2max (p = 0.042) and TLim (p = 0.05) of V2 were significantly increased in the TIG, and there was no significant change in the PCG. Meanwhile, six athletes in the TIG and 0 athletes in the PCG became EIB-negative at ECT₂; the overall negative conversion rate of EIB was 40.00% in TCG. Additionally, the number of cough symptoms decreased from 9 to 3 and dyspnea from 4 to 2 in the TIG. After high-intensity exercise, athletes with EIB achieved significant improvements in lung function and blood inflammatory factors by combining tangeretin and whey protein supplementation. EIB athletes also showed longer exercise endurance and VO_2max at 4 weeks after TI. In addition, some patient symptoms disappeared after combination supplementation. The effect of this treatment on professional athletes with EIB was beneficial.

With the increasing participation of women in sports, research on women’s sports has gradually increased but remains less than that on men’s sports as a whole. The menstrual cycle is a unique physiological feature of women. Hormone fluctuations during this period can have a potential effect on exercise performance through various mechanisms, including substrate metabolism, cardiopulmonary function, body temperature regulation, and psychological factors. This narrative review analyzed the changes in aerobic performance, anaerobic performance, and strength during the menstrual cycle by analyzing domestic and international research on exercise performance at different phases of menstrual cycle and preliminarily discussed the influence of menstrual cycle-related factors on exercise performances. Results show that although a considerable proportion of female athletes believe that their exercise performance is affected by their menstrual cycle (poor exercise performance during the early follicular and midluteal phases), various exercise performance during different phases of the menstrual cycle are inconsistent. Such variability may be related to the inconsistency of current research methods, such as the method for identifying menstrual cycle phases. Current research focuses on aerobic, anaerobic, and strength indices, and only a few studies on speed, sensitivity, and flexibility exist. Studies that support the differences in transport performance during different menstrual cycle phases have the overall consensus that aerobic performance in the follicular phase is higher than that in the luteal phase and the effect of hormonal fluctuations on aerobic performance during the menstrual cycle can be reduced by ingesting glucose. Maximum strength is poorest during the luteal phase. However, strength training can be planned on the basis of the hormone fluctuation characteristics of the menstrual cycle. Most studies have shown that anaerobic performance is unaffected by the menstrual cycle. Further research is needed to quantify exercise performance during different phases of the menstrual cycle and determine the relevant factors affecting exercise performance to understand women’s exercise performance fully. It provides help to athletes in regulating their physiological cycle before games and ensuring their maximum performance during competition.