One out of five American women over the age of 50 have osteoporosis, and half of women over 50 will have a fracture of the hip, wrist or vertebrae, as reported by the National Institutes of Health. Exercise is important to treat and prevent osteoporosis by improving your bone health, posture and muscle strength. If you start regular weight-bearing exercise when you're young and continuing to exercise as you age, you significantly reduce your risks of developing the disease.
Identification
Osteoporosis occurs when your body fails to form enough new bone and/or reabsorbs calcium and phosphate from older bone, leading to the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density. This process usually happens gradually over time, but tends to accelerate in women after menopause and in men over age 70. Early stages of the disease have few symptoms, but later stages may cause bone pain or tenderness, fractures, loss of height, low back pain, neck pain and a stooping posture often called "dowager's hump."
Benefits
Bone is living tissue and becomes stronger through regular exercise, with young people who exercise tending to have greater bone density and strength than non-exercisers. Bone mass peaks in the third decade of life for most people, although participating in weight-bearing exercise helps to stave off many of the effects of the bone loss that begins around the age of 35.
Recommendations
According to the National Institutes of Health, the best exercise to prevent osteoporosis is a weight-bearing exercise, or any that forces you to work against gravity. Weight-bearing activities include weight training, walking, jogging, hiking, climbing stairs, tennis, dancing, skating, skiing and team sports like soccer, baseball, and basketball. Swimming, biking and elliptical machines are good for cardiovascular health but aren't as beneficial for your bones. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends you exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, four or more days a week.
Considerations
If you already have signs of osteoporosis or are in a high-risk group, you should avoid any exercise that includes a greater risk of falling or any high-impact exercises that could cause fractures, such as aerobics classes. You may also need to avoid activities that flex, bend, or twist your spine. If you have heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or are obese, check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.
References
- PubMed: Osteoporosis
- NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center: Exercise for Your Bone Health
- American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons: Weightbearing Exercise for Women and Girls
- MayoClinic.com: Osteoporosis Prevention
- "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"; Role of Exercise in Prevention of Involutional Bone Loss; V. Brewer, et al.; 1983
