Osteoporosis: The benefits of exercise

What is it?

Osteoporosis is a progressive bone condition, characterised by loss of bone mass and density. This increases the bone’s fragility, creating a greater susceptibility to fractures. Prior to developing osteoporosis, people are diagnosed with osteopenia, which indicates low bone mass which may develop into osteoporosis.

The Stages of Osteoporosis

Who gets it?

People of all ages, sex and race can have osteoporosis, however it is of much higher prevalence in women and people over 50. Unfortunately, women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis due to hormonal differences which affect bone regeneration.

As we age, our regeneration of bone also slows down, which is why the older we are, the higher at risk we are of developing osteoporosis. In fact, people aged above 85, have 15% more chance of hip fracture than people aged from 60-65.

Why is osteoporosis an issue?

Bone fractures and breaks are extremely debilitating, taking at least 6 weeks to heal and up to 6 months to completely recover from (sometimes more). As we get older, the recovery takes longer due to slower bone regeneration, the healing is hence more taxing on our body and we are out of action for longer!

As your bone density decreases, you also have a greater risk of “low trauma” fractures. This means fractures from little to no impact, which in extreme cases can be as simple climbing a few flights of stairs.

Every hour, it is estimated that osteoporosis causes 1000 fractures globally. Scary stuff!

Osteoporosis is also on the rise!

It is a “silent disease” as there is no pain associated with the onset. It is extremely prevalent, with around 60% of women and 30% of men over 60 are affected by the disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that in 20 years time, this will double (unless we do something about it).

How to prevent it?

Many studies have found that high impact and heavy loaded exercises are able to provide stimulus to the bone, and when applied at an appropriate rate and varied to the right degree, there is an osteogenic (bone growth) response. This includes exercises like hopping, bounding and jumping.

It has been concluded through research that these exercises at any stage of skeletal development or age is beneficial, finding that even post-menopausal women were able to increase their bone density after completing appropriate exercises.

Prior to recent research it was believed that after menopause, due to the lack of hormone production, there could only be maintenance of bone density, however it is now proven that this is not the case!

When should I start these bone loading exercises?

As soon as possible!

Essentially, the sooner the better….

The most optimal time to physiologically increase bone density is during youth, as this is where the most bone growth occurs. Studies have found athletes completing high bone loading sports such as gymnastics, volleyball and sprinting, had up to 44% more bone density than non-athlete counterparts.

The peak bone mass we develop is between ages of 25 – 35, after this we lose our bone mass progressively, and the only things to slow the reductions are exercise and medication. Women will lose up to 50% of their bone mass during their lifetime, as men will lose up to 35%.

But remember, at any age, loading your bone will increase the density. So it's never too late to start these exercises. Essentially, the more bone density you have, the more you have to lose!

How do I know what Exercises to do?

There are three categories of Exercise Important for Osteoporosis.

1. High Impact : These include jumping, hopping and bounding. This means any exercise that loads your bones through fast and loaded contact as this increases bone growth.

2. Loaded Exercises: This includes strengthening exercises such as deadlifts, squats and lunges that load your bone and muscle through resistance/weights. This not only loads you bone to increase density but also increases the strength of your muscles and structures to improve your musculoskeletal stability, ensuring that you don’t fall in the first place (as you are so strong and stable)…and if you do, the muscles can stabilise (and cushion) you enough so that there is little to no impact to cause a fracture/break.

3. Balance: These exercises include working on your static and dynamic balance to ensure that your risk of falling is reduced. These include balancing on one leg, walking heel toe and balancing on an unstable service like a cushion.

To ensure you are doing these exercises correctly and to the intensity required for improvement, a consultation with an Exercise Physiologist can be helpful. The right exercises can be prescribed, guided and progressed, individualised to your specific needs. This also ensures safety and correct technique with exercises, which is needed when you are completing loaded and high impact exercises. Balance exercises also need to be challenging and constantly upgraded to ensure an improvement.

Book in or give us a call today to discuss further!