Exercise for Osteoporosis

Exercise for Osteoporosis.  If you have been diagnosed with Osteoporosis ( or Osteopenia) there are two types of exercise you will want to do. 

First, to prevent fracturing a bone because of a fall you want to spend a few minutes each day on exercises that will improve your balance.  It is normal to lose our sense of balance as we age but practicing balance exercises can prevent that.  Balance exercises act as your personal protection against falls.  Falls, as you know, are the main cause of fractures in both women and men who have been diagnosed with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis. Balance  exercises are easy. You can do them at home or any time you are standing in line, riding an elevator or watching T.V. 

Second,  to stimulate your bones to grow thicker and stronger you will want to do weight bearing exercises. Bone strengthening exercises should be done  for 15- 30 minutes three times a week.  (Do not do these exercises every day since your body needs time to recuperate so the exercises can increase your bone density.)

Why Balance exercises are important. A fall, even a fall in your own home, can leave with you with a broken wrist or arm, a cracked spine or even a shattered hip if you have Osteopenia or Osteoporosis.

And the older you are, the more serious such falls can be.  Example: Research studies show that men and women in their 80s or 90s who break a hip usually die within a year. No one seems to understand why this happens. No one dies from the fracture itself. But they do die afterwards and at rates far frequent often than their peers who did not suffer a fracture. 

This even happens to persons who are appear to be in good health.  So, if you are smart...if you love life,  you will do everything in your power to avoid falling as you age. Practice your balance every day or at least 3 - 5 times a week.

In addition you will want to declutter your living area. Decluttering is really important since a trip often means a fall and a fall often means a fracture if we have Osteopenia or Osteoporosis. If you feel you are not up to decluttering  on your own, please ask for help from a relative or friend  OR hire someone to assist you. (There are persons who specialize in helping 'declutter'. Do a web search for: help with decluttering and add you town/city).  

More safety help. There are people who are trained to asses home safety.  They will  come into your home and make suggestions on ways you can make it safer for daily living as you age.  (I had someone do such an evaluation of my home some years back.  I received a few recommendations and implemented them almost immediately. Why? Women in my family often live into their late 90s. I want my home to be safe... I want to live here as long as I can. It is my refuge.... and place I can enjoy the company of friends....eat on my schedule and relax knowing that no one is going to be making all my decisions for me. So getting advice just made sense.)

If you want, you can get some professional guidance/ advice too. And it need not cost  a great deal.  Call you local Office of Aging or senior center.  They may have a list of professionals who do this.  There are also  number of books on Amazon written by professionals that might be of use  To find them just click:  Fall Prevention 

Special Exercise for Osteoporosis, Osteopenia: Improve your balance

There are exercises that will improve your balance. Most take less than 5 minutes a day.  You can do them while waiting for your bread to toast or while watching TV. These exercises do not tax your stamina or your energy.  AND they work!  Check them out at: Exercise for Osteopenia Balance Exercises, Prevent Falls 

Exercise for Osteoporosis and Osteopenia to stimulate bone growth

A second type of exercise for Osteopenia or Osteoporosis are those that actually stimulate your bones to grow thicker and stronger. These exercises are called 'weight bearing'. 

Yes, some of them are done with actual weights but others add 'weight stress' to your bones by other means such as:  jogging,  jumping rope, hiking, walking DOWN stairs, tap dancing, gymnastics . . .  

Sometimes we forget that the human body came to into existence long before we harnessed electricity or the gas engine.  Our forebears were 'hunter gathers' who often walked 15 miles or more a day...bending, stooping, reaching for berries and fruit as they walked. 

Their daily activities helped them grow thicker,  stronger bones.                   For many of us a daily 15 mile walk and scavenging for food would be well nigh impossible. But our bodies (bones) were made for such endurance activities.  So if we want our body's to continue to function well,  we need to add some 'artificial activiites' that imitate the daily activity of our ancient forebears.  We need some Exercise for Osteoporosis or Osteopenia to our daily regime if we want to avoid fractures or dowagers hump

Here is your list of Exercise for Osteoporosis , Osteopenia:                                   Bone building exercises

Here are some balance and co-ordination exercise for Osteoporosis that will help prevent falls and fractures:   Balance and co-ordination

Good luck.   Remember if you want a full list of subjects covered by this site, just click on INDEX.

Thanks for reading.  If you would like to add a personal comment about Exercise for Osteoporosis, Osteopenia please use the form below.  Just be sure to copy the url for this page and put it at the beginning of your comment so I can know where your comment should be placed.  (I use the same form for all pages) 

End of Exercise for Osteoporosis , Osteopenia