Osteoporosis: Exercise Tips for Bone Strength

If you have osteoporosis, you might mistakenly think that exercise will harm you and lead to fracture. In fact, exercise in a safe way can strengthen and protect your bones. In this article, we will discuss exercise tips for bone strength, especially if you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis: What is it?

Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bones to the point where they can break easily. It most often occurs on the bones in the hip, spine, and wrist. It is also a major cause of disability in older women. When you have osteoporosis, exercise can be an important component of strengthening your bones as well as reducing your risks for falls through balance exercise.

Benefits of Exercise for Osteoporosis

• Increase your muscle strength
• Improve your balance
• Decrease your risk of bone fracture
• Maintain or improve your posture
• Relieve or decrease pain

Exercises for building bone strength

Below are some exercise tips for building your bone strength.

1. Muscle strengthening

Weight lifting and exercise with therabands are good choices to build your muscle strength. This help improve your muscle control and support your joints. These exercises enable your tendons to pull on the bones, while the body responds by building more bone which boosts bone strength as a result. Besides, it can also help relieve pain for osteoporosis patients.

2. Weight-bearing

Some weight-bearing exercises like stair climbing, brisk walking, sit to stands and squats are excellent for building bone strength. While doing these exercises, our body may respond by increasing our bones’ density.

3. Balance exercises

Balance exercises like Pilates are good for osteoporosis and the elderly as it is a low-impact exercise. It can improve your balance and response time to prevent falls and reduces the risk of fractures as a result of fall. In Elevate Physiotherapy, we provide Rehab Pilates to all age groups. Do check it out.

Exercises that may not be suitable for people with osteoporosis

Do take note that there are some exercises should be avoid for osteoporosis. For example:

• Sit-ups and excessive bending at the waist.

• Twisting movements such as in golf etc

• Explosive exercises or high impacts like jumping, or contact sports.

Above are exercise tips for bone strength for people with osteoporosis. It’s never too late to start exercising. Remember that quality of movement is more important than quantity! Doing more repetitions may not always be better. If you struggle with any of what we listed here, it may be time to step up your routine and seek for help. In Elevate Physiotherapy. we can provide you a physical assessment to get to the root cause of your problem. Do check out our Instagram page too.

KOH PEH CHIA
REAHB PILATES THERAPIST

Through her clinical experience, she then gained valuable experience in treating professional dancers and gymnastics athletes. Her interest in pre and post-natal physiotherapy was piqued as she finds women having difficulties maintaining an active lifestyle pre and post-childbirth. She then pursued a STOTT Rehab Pilates Instructor certification to help with this group and women. She also highlights her belief that prevention is a better way to handle injuries.