How to Prevent Osteoporosis
How to prevent osteoporosis?
What exercises are best for preventing osteoporosis?
The general rule is 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercise such as walking or climbing stairs.
Building bone is a lifelong proposition. When you were a kid, you would get exercise through various activities and not even know it. For example,
you'd roller skate, climb hills, ride bikes, and swim. Exercise was a part of your daily life. Sadly, as you age, you likely become less active.
Studies show that by the age of 16, only a little more than 10 percent of girls are involved in physical activity.
Although exercise won't completely prevent you from losing bone, it can help slow the process.
When learning about how to prevent osteoporosis, consider weight-bearing exercise and resistance training.
Both are beneficial for increasing muscle, bone mass, and avoiding fractures.
Weight-bearing refers to an exercise that places your full weight on your legs. Weight-bearing means you're working against gravity when you move.
Some examples of weight-bearing exercises are running, walking, stair climbing, dancing, jumping rope, jogging in place, or playing sports.
Resistance exercise helps bone grow because the tendon the bone is attached to pulls on the bone. As your muscles become stronger, they continue to stress the bones,
stimulating more bone-building cells to grow.
Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program
You don't want to aggravate any existing problems when you start exercising.
Is there any specific kind of exercise you need to be doing? Some people have health restrictions such as asthma, so running may not be a good choice. If you have heart problems, your doctor may not
want you undertaking certain types of exercise.
What do you enjoy doing? If you like the type of exercise you're doing, you're more likely to keep at it.
How much will it cost? Gym memberships and sports equipment can be expensive.
Don't overdue it in the beginning
If you try to do too much in the beginning, you may end up wearing yourself out or even hurting yourself.
Exercise prevents a host of illnesses
Exercising on a regular basis and eating healthy foods are two of the best ways to maintain good health and excellent bone health.
Moderate exercise helps prevent a host of chronic illnesses from diabetes to heart disease. Exercise is the single most effective strategy to prevent
fragility fractures. Exercise has the unique benefit of making the skeleton sturdier and heavier from the response to the demands that are made on it.
When thinking about how to prevent osteoporosis, remember that higher impact activities such as jogging, running, and jumping, generate more impact on bones than lower-impact exercise such as swimming and walking.
Four Main Types of Exercise
Exercise now so you can avoid having to take drugs for osteoporosis
treatment.
All four of these types of exercises are important for maintaining fitness, good health, and preventing osteoporosis.
Aerobic
Aerobic exercise increases cardiovascular function and strength. There is little evidence that aerobic exercise alone will increase bone density. However, aerobic exercise is great for stimulating
leg and hip bones by the impact of your feet hitting the ground.
Flexibility
Stretching exercises promotes flexibility which helps prevent falls. Having strong flexible joints also means that you are less likely to suffer
joint injuries. Yoga can be a good exercise. Yoga is weight-bearing and through various postures, the muscle pulls on the bone stimulating further bone remodeling.
Balance Training
As we age, our sense of balance becomes less and as a result, we are more at risk for falling. Tai Chi is a balance program that promotes body awareness. Tai Chi
improves strength, flexibility, and endurance in patients suffering from osteoarthritis.
Resistance or Strength Training
Using weights and high impact exercises can help build bone. As a muscle contracts, they pull bone to which they are attached, which then stimulates
the bone to build in that area. For this reason, it's important to stimulate the whole skeleton, particularly those areas at higher risk for fracture.
When considering how to prevent osteoporosis, regular exercise has many other benefits. Along with increasing well-being and fitness, exercise helps
protect against conditions like heart disease, cancer, depression, and Alzheimer's disease.
How to Prevent Osteoporosis to
Osteoporosis Treatment
Osteoporosis to BHRT-Resource Home
FDA Disclaimer
Privacy Policy

|
|