Bone Health

Each May, the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) brings awareness to the importance of good bone health and osteoporosis prevention. One in two women and up to one in four men over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis. The disease, which is not a normal part of aging, is treatable and preventable. Bone health or bone density is at it’s peak in your 20’s and starts to decrease in your 30’s and every decade after. Weight bearing exercises are commonly prescribed treatments to increase bone density. Walking is often suggested as a way to increase bone density; however, studies show that walking has a limited effect in preventing osteoporosis. Walking only increases bone density in the hip region. A very good activity you can do to increase bone density is stair climbing. If you take a walk outside try to walk to a park or athletic field that may have stairs. When you go into a building, instead of taking the elevator try taking the stairs. Using an indoor stair climbing machine is beneficial, although make sure you aren’t leaning too far forward while on the machine. If you find yourself leaning forward, decrease the speed so you are standing upright with a light grip on the handrails. Other weight bearing exercises such as bouncing, jumping, hops from foot to foot, and/or jumping jacks promote bone density. However, our bodies many not be able to tolerate a lot of these higher impact moves, so if you have access to a pool this summer try these exercises in there. Start in water that is shoulder or armpit level so it’s gentle on your joints and jump or hop from one foot to the other. Then, slowly progress to more shallow water always listening to your body and stopping if it is painful on your joints.

One of the best things you can do to increase bone density is to increase load on your body when you exercise. What does increasing your load mean? Simply put, it means using heavier weights! Put away the three and five pound weights and start lifting heavier weights. Add some resistance training with bands to your workout. Focus on exercises that strengthen the back muscles which keep you standing tall and exercises that challenge your balance in a safe way.

As many of you know, I offer personal training services. One of my clients who has osteoporosis practices her exercises every single day. She was adamant that she didn’t want to take a pill for her osteoporosis. She’s been doing her daily exercises every morning for over two years. At her latest doctor’s appointment, she found out that her persistence paid off . Her bone density T-scores improved. In one area she went from osteoporosis to osteopenia! With a little patience and regular exercise, you can start to build your bone density, too.