Exercise is one of the best ways to prevent osteoporosis, but it has to be done in a specific way. Unfortunately, not all exercises are created equal when it comes to increasing bone strength.
Contrary to what you might think, bones are constantly being broken down and built back up by special cells called osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Your body uses your bones as a place to store calcium so that it can always have some available for important bodily functions. Generally up until young adulthood we are adding to our bone mass, from ages 20-40 bone mass stays stable, and after age 40 mild bone loss sets in. After age 60 the rate of bone loss increases and it does so again when we hit 80. In fact, 55% of people over age 50 have low bone density and 50% of post menopausal women and 25% of men will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
We want to maximize bone density by doing lots of bone stressing exercises and eating a healthy diet that supplies enough Calcium, Phosphorous, Potassium, Magneium, Sulfur,and Vitamins D, C, K and A. The bone will adapt to the loads it is placed under, so you need to give it enough stress to stimulate the laying down of new bone. Unfortunately just walking isn't enough, exercises need to be of high enough intensity to cause bone growth but low enough intensity not to get injured. This means that they must contain some impact forces. An exercise program to prevent osteoporosis must be S.A.F.E., an acronym that means the following:
STRENGTH: the power and ability to move quickly with some resistance
AGILITY: ability to shift weight and move quickly to prevent a fall
FLEXIBILITY: have enough flexibility in one joint to have stablility in another.
EQUILIBRIUM: The knowledge of where the limbs and torso are located in space to avoid a fall.
Another important acronym in planning exercise for osteoporosis prevention is SHOW ME. The first part of this addresses the areas where bone breaks are most likely to occur: Spine, Hips and Wrists. The programming should pay particular attention to these areas. The ME stands for Multiplaner and Eccentric. This means that exercises should be done in all different directions and include some impact forces in order to maximize bone growth. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends weight bearing and muscle strenthening exercises progressed according to one's ability and degree of bone loss. It is important to recognize a safe starting point to not do more harm then good.
Keeping all of this in mind I have designed a workout that can be progressed or regressed as needed. It uses minimal equipment and only takes about 45 minutes.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
If you need more help with diet, supplements and exercise for osteoporosis prevention let me know. I am an Osteoporosis Fitness Specialist through the MedFit Network and would love to discuss more ways I can help.
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