Exercise has benefits to many health conditions, affecting multiple systems in the body. One of the benefits of exercise is to promote and maintain strong and healthy bones, and to stop bone loss in those with osteoporosis.
The biggest concern with osteoporosis is weakened bones that are prone to fracture. These fractures most commonly occur in the spine, the hip and the wrist. In addition to your nutritional status and hormone levels, the amount and type of physical activity or exercise you do affects bone strength.
The reason why exercise builds bone is this: the cells living in bone reside in small pockets, which are connected by tiny canals. These canals allow fluid to move within the bone. When the bone is loaded in the right way, such as with certain exercises, the fluid is squished through the canals. The cells can detect this fluid movement, which stimulates them to deposit more bone. Much research in the field of exercise physiology has been conducted to learn what kind of movement and exercise are the best to stimulate this bone growth to improve the strength of bone and help prevent osteoporosis.
The other benefits of exercise for those with osteoporosis are muscular strength and balance. As many people with osteoporosis are over fifty years of age, strength and balance become important issues. It is about this time in life that people begin an accelerated loss of muscle. Over time this loss can make people unsteady and increase the risk of falls that might fracture a bone. This reduced muscle mass is also linked to slower walking speeds which also plays a role in susceptibility to falling. Restoring some of the muscle bulk lost can also act as “padding” to protect the bone if the person does fall. Furthermore, many older adults become afraid of falling and limit their physical activity; this causes deconditioning, which will lead to frailty and loss of independent living.
A clinical exercise physiologist can identify those who have multiple risk factors that make them more likely to develop osteoporosis, make lifestyle recommendations to optimize bone strength and minimize fracture risk, and prescribe exercises that improve bone strength, balance and confidence. They have in-depth training in the science of exercise, and its prescription for those who are “healthy” and those with medical conditions. If you would like to discuss prevention or management of osteoporosis with an exercise physiologist or additional information about exercise physiology, please call the Rosedale Natural Health Clinic at 416-926-0084.
