Thank you to Michelle Aultman for this guest post about ways you can help prevent osteoporosis and keep your current bone density. These are great tips that many don’t know. Exercise is about much more than just weight loss, it keeps our bodies working correctly for longer.
About 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and another 34 million have low bone mass, (osteopenia). A disease with no symptoms, osteoporosis affects about 20 percent of men and 80 percent of women.
Because bones gradually become weaker, they are more likely to break by a minor fall or, if left untreated, even from simple things like a sneeze. The most common fracture sites include the hip, wrist and spine, although any bone in your body could be affected.
A diagnosis of osteopenia or osteoporosis may be scary, leading some to avoid exercise due to fear it’ll cause fractures. The simple truth is that those with low bone mass should make a point to exercise often.
Being active has been shown to not merely aid the prevention of osteoporosis, but slow bone loss once it’s already begun. Before beginning an exercise program, you will need to talk with a medical expert for guidelines, as level of bone loss determines exactly what exercise is best.
Physicians can assess density of bone and fracture risk by scanning the body using a special kind of X-ray machine. As well as exercise, treatment may include dietary modifications and/or estrogen replacement therapy.
The more you know concerning this condition, the more you can do to help prevent its onset. To make strength and bone mass, both weight-bearing and resistance training workouts are ideal.
Weight-bearing work outs are the ones that require the bones to totally support your weight against gravity. Examples are walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing or using an elliptical exercise machine.
Non-weight bearing exercises include biking, swimming, water aerobics and rowing.
Weight-bearing activities such as walking well under three times a week will manage to benefit the bones.
Strength training places mechanical force (stress) on our bodies, which increases bone density. Start by lifting light weights, moving in a slow and controlled manner, increasing resistance when you become stronger.
It is important that individuals with osteoporosis avoid the following forms of activity:
* Step aerobics and high-impact activities like running, jumping, tennis.
* Activities that involve rounding, bending and twisting of the spine.
* Moving the legs sideways or across the body, particularly when performed against resistance.
* Rowing machines, trampolines.
* Any kind of movement that involves pulling on the head and neck.
Exercise Tips:
* Even if you don’t have osteoporosis, you should check with your health care provider prior to starting an exercising program.
* Make sure you warm up before beginning and cool-down at the end of every exercise session.
* To get the best benefit to your bone health, combine several different weight-bearing exercises.
* When you build strength, increase resistance, or weights, as an alternative to repetitions.
* Make sure you drink plenty of water whenever exercising.
* Vary the types of exercise that you try each week.
* Combine weight bearing and resistance exercise with aerobic exercises to help increase your overall health.
* Bring your friend along to help you continue or better yet, bring your family and encourage them to be healthy.
* Add more physical activity in your day; take the stairs vs. the elevator, park further way, and walk to your co-worker’s office rather than emailing.
Put LIVE into action!
L – Load or weight-bearing exercises make a difference to your bones
I – Intensity builds stronger bones.
V – Vary the types of exercise as well as your routine to keep interested.
E – Enjoy your exercises. Make exercise fun so you will continue in the future!
Specific factors raise the likelihood of developing osteoporosis. While many of these risk factors are controllable, others are not. Risk factors that can be controlled are: Sedentary lifestyle, excess intake of protein, sodium, caffeine and/or alcohol, smoking, calcium and Vitamin D deficiencies and taking certain medicines. Body size (small frame), gender, family history and ethnicity are risk factors that are not to be controlled. Women can lose approximately 20 percent of their bone mass in the five to seven years after menopause, making them more susceptible to osteoporosis.
It’s never too early to start thinking about bone density. About 85-90 % of adult bone mass is acquired by age 18 in girls and 20 in boys.
Nutrition and Exercise for Healthy Bones in childhood and Adolescence
Much of the reserve of healthy bone is built in youth and before the age of 30.
Women can be more subject to an inadequate foundation process at this time than men.
Sufficient calcium intake,a comprehensive diet with a lot of vegetables and fruit and load-bearing exercise are the secrets of solid bone growth when you’re young.
Then, with continued exercise into old age –- and this goes for men too — bone density decline can be kept to a minimum.
Although women are the main focus of data about osteoporosis and low bone density (osteopenia), some men are also seriously afflicted by this problem.
In case you do every one of the right things while maturing and into adulthood, your inherited characteristics –- your genes -– can present you with bones that are susceptible to osteoporosis. This is even greater reason to maximize your lifestyle to prevent poor bone health.
About me – Michelle Aultman writes for the elliptical trainer for weight loss blog, her personal hobby blog focused on suggestions to prevent osteoporosis trough home fitness.
Writer’s note: The details provided on this post are designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her doctor. Michelle Aultman has not commercial intent and does not accept direct source of advertising coming from health or pharmaceutical companies, doctors or clinics and websites. All content provided by her is based on her editorial judgment and it’s not driven by an advertising purpose.
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