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Osteoporosis is an age-related condition that causes your bones to become extremely brittle. When bones become weak, they are less likely to be able to support the body weight they were built to handle. Bones become brittle when they become too stressed and damaged. The result is bones breaking apart in small fractures. Fractures are much more likely to occur when there is bone mass loss, as well as a lack of protein in the diet.
Osteoporosis results from the body’s inability to absorb calcium or because the bones are losing calcium faster than it can be replaced, such as in hyperparathyroidism. This is why many people with osteoporosis complain of pain in their joints. The pain caused by osteoporosis can range from moderate to severe. Some people suffer from joint pain and discomfort, while others are not bothered by it. The majority of people affected by osteoporosis experience joint pain and stiffness for years. Osteoporosis is a leading cause of hip replacement.
Some of the most effective exercises for osteoporosis can be difficult for the body to handle. You may need to consider other options and you should always consult with a doctor before starting any new exercise program. Also keep in mind that if you are not getting enough nutrients, you may do more harm than good by starting exercises that your body cannot benefit from.
The two types of exercises most frequently recommended by doctors for reducing the risk of osteoporotic fractures are aerobic exercises and strengthening exercises. Staying fit will help you maintain your bone health, balance, and prevent further loss of bone mass. Strengthening exercises help strengthen the muscles supporting your spine and can help to reduce your risk of fractures. Make sure you listen to your doctor and follow their advice regarding the types of exercises to do and when to begin.
Aerobic exercises should be done at least three to four times a week. Yoga is another of the recommended exercises for osteoporosis and should be done on a regular basis, although there are certain yoga exercises that you should NOT do if you have osteoporosis. Yoga is a great way to lose weight while staying fit, as it also strengthens your body and improves your flexibility. You can find a lot of information about yoga exercises online or buy a DVD to teach yourself. Once you’ve learned the exercises, then you can start working out at your own home.
Yoga improves your balance and requires you to use a lot of your muscles during the workout. This is one of the main reasons yoga is also good for your cardiovascular health. As a matter of fact, yoga is so good for your heart that it could reduce your risk of heart disease or stroke. It’s even good for strengthening your immune system as well as your reproductive health.
If you have weak muscles, then you will benefit from strengthening your muscles through exercises for osteoporosis or through a yoga workout. One of the most common exercises for osteoporosis is known as progressive resistive exercise or PRED. The goal of this form of exercise is to build a person’s bone density by increasing their muscle strength and overall bone mass. This type of exercise helps to increase strength and mobility in all parts of your body. As a matter of fact, people who regularly do this type of exercise have better bone density than those who don’t. It also increases your muscle strength, which allows you to carry out more strenuous activities.
Finally, exercises for osteoporosis could include the use of therapeutic physical therapy. Therapy is an important part of any treatment plan. A therapist can help you determine the proper exercises to do and how often to do them. They also help you develop a complete exercise and rehabilitation program that fit your needs and goals. By working with you, a physical therapist can teach you how to prevent further bone damage by strengthening your muscles around your spine, improving your posture, reducing your risk of fractures, and preventing future bone loss or fractures. As soon as you begin taking the steps to prevent further bone damage and bone fractures, you will notice a great sense of relief and you will be able to enjoy a long and healthy life.
Regular exercise is a good way to strengthen bones and help prevent osteoporosis. Even for those with osteoporosis, certain exercise groups can help keep your level of bone mass.
Exercising doesn’t just build muscle and endurance. It also helps to build and maintain bone mass and density, this is how much bone you have and how thick it is.
There are three types of exercise needed to build healthy bones for those with osteoporosis: weight-bearing, resistance and flexibility.
Weight-bearing just means using your legs and feet to support your whole weight, so includes walking but not swimming or cycling (good for endurance but not specifically for osteoporosis).
With resistance exercises, you use another object to work with: this strengthens your muscles and builds your bones up, reducing the likelihood of them fracturing. Resistance exercises can include resistance tubing, free weights (or weight machines) and water aerobics – any kind of exercise done in water that makes your muscles push against it.
Flexibility exercises are important for osteoporosis because they can help prevent injuries.
With all of these exercises, if you have never been very active, talk to your doctor or physical therapist about an exercise program and which would be best for you. Don’t try high impact exercises, like jogging or jumping rope if you already have osteoporosis or osteopenia as they may cause fractures or injure your spine. It is better to try low impact exercises, such as walking or gardening.
It’s also important to be wary of exercise that includes bending and twisting at the waist, such as sit-ups, some particular yoga poses and rowing machines, as this can lead to fractures.
Everyone knows the benefits of an active lifestyle, yet most of us still opt out until we hear some really bad news from the doctor. If you’re dealing with a diagnosis of osteoporosis, it’s high time you made the positive connection between your condition and becoming more physically fit. Osteoporosis and exercise go exceptionally well together.
Why Your Doctor Recommends Exercise For Osteoporosis
Your bone mass and bone density actually improve with exercise, no matter what shape you’re in nor how old you are. This means building and maintaining the thickness and strength of your bones. Since osteoporosis makes your bones weaker and more brittle, and the right kind of exercise can make them stronger, the power of exercise is very beneficial with this condition. Even if you already have good bone density, you can prevent further loss of mass, strength and density, so why wouldn’t you?
Exercise To Lessen Pain
Osteoporosis can eventually lead to fractures, loss of height and a condition called kyphosis, both of which are very painful. While osteoporosis can go on for years without causing pain, the weaker and less dense your bones become, the more apt you are to succumb to the consequences with spinal compressions and other issues. Don’t allow osteoporosis to take over your bones because the pain becomes life-altering. Exercise can prevent it from continuing to such extremes, eliminating the necessity for strong medications and frequent therapy. You may find it useful to read books about osteoporosis to gain more information and motivate yourself to take the action you need to improve your condition.
Osteoporosis And Exercise For Greater Flexibility
Since this disease has the greatest impact on people over 65, conditioning and flexibility are essential to health maintenance. Even if you have not received a diagnosis regarding your bone health, exercising will keep you flexible and strong. You will be much less susceptible to the different afflictions that cause chronic pain and impair function. Particularly with a diagnosis, you’re behind the eight ball and need to take immediate action to put yourself in a more advantageous position.
Your Best Options For Exercise
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Building healthier bones (at any age) begins with a smart exercise routine. Specifically for osteoporosis, doctors recommend walking over all other workouts. Walking for just four hours every week will significantly build up your bones, and it’s the easiest routine for nearly anyone. Take a brisk stroll after dinner with your spouse or a neighbor or walk smartly around the block during lunch. You may also be able to find exercise classes run locally that specifically target bone health.
Dancing, gardening and other physical activities, including housework(!) can also keep your bones healthy.
Weight-bearing exercise should be an important part of your regimen, which means the use of free weights, such as dumbbells, though you can also use water bottles (with water in them) or even canned food to start out. Weight-bearing simply means you support your own body during the activity. Weight bearing exercises can also be done by those with limited mobility or who are chair bound and there are exercise videos specifically targeted at people who cannot get out.
Since flexibility is a primary factor in your health and well-being with a diminished bone condition, Pilates and yoga are frequently prescribed, though certain poses are not recommended. Not only do they help your body become stronger and more flexible, they gently push you in directions you’d never get to on your own! Tai chi is another good form of gentle exercise which helps with bone strength and also with balance, which is very important if you have any degree of osteoporosis. Avoiding falls is one of the best ways of reducing your chance of a fracture or break and practising balance exercises can help lessen the possibility of a fall. You can get Tai chi videos to help you learn the moves and of course there are Pilates videos and Yoga videos available too if you prefer to work out at home, rather than attend a class. For those who prefer not to watch videos, there are plenty of books available to provide information on the condition, avoiding it and exercises that will help. Gaining more knowledge is always helpful, provided you put it into practice!
As weight-bearing exercise is an important part of keeping and building bone strength, swimming is NOT one of the recommended exercises. While it is a good aerobic exercise and can help improve flexibility and stamina, it does not include weight bearing, because the water supports your weight, however, water aerobics, that use the water as a resistance tool are helpful.
How Exercise Benefits Your Psychological Well-Being Too
Chronic pain, especially when combined with other effects of aging, is particularly difficult to endure on a daily basis. Exercise is a proven boost to your psyche, due to the endorphins produced, increased energy and improved mood that usually follows. All of this contributes to a higher quality of life in general. No matter what medical situation you’re dealing with, so long as you’ve got doctor’s approval for physical activity, it will benefit you in many ways. The mind-body connection is clear, and you stand to lose a lot, including possible increases in pain, if you settle for being idle.
Osteoporosis isn’t the end of the world, but it’s not a diagnosis to be taken lightly either. Do more for yourself by getting regular exercise as prescribed by your doctor. The difference in your bones is profound and the positive impact on your life amazing.
What Causes Osteoporosis?
It’s not just diet or the lack of exercise, or the lack of Vitamin D. One of the causes of osteoporosis is a condition called hyperparathyroidism, where too much hyperparathyroid (HPT) hormone is produced from some little glands in the neck, which causes calcium to leach from the bones, leading to weakened bones and too much calcium in the bloodstream. This can also lead to mental confusion and the excess phosphate from the bones can lead to kidney stones. this is VERY treatable.
The four tiny parathyroid glands are situated in your neck, behind the thyroid gland. They make parathyroid hormone, which helps to keep a steady level of calcium in your body. Calcium is important, not only for your bones and teeth but also for muscles and nerves. Hyperparathyroidism means you have too much (hyper) parathyroid hormone in your bloodstream. This is probably because one or more of the parathyroid glands is too active.
There are two kinds of hyperparathyroidism. Primary hyperparathyroidism happens because one of the parathyroid glands gets bigger and produces more hormone. This extra amount of hormone means there is extra calcium in the bloodstream. This can cause a number of problems, including confusion and kidney stones. Primary hyperparathyroidism is usually treated by surgery to remove the enlarged gland.
The other kind of hyperparathyroidism is called secondary. It happens because some other problem reduces the level of calcium in the body, so the parathyroid glands step up production of the hormone to put more calcium in the bloodstream. They get this calcium from the bones, weakening them.
Hyperparathyroidism is a “silent” disease because it is often diagnosed before symptoms appear.
The word is a mouthful — hyperparathyroidism — but it stands for a series of symptoms that can make life uncomfortable. It can be frightening as well, especially when the body seems to be changing on its own and where the person experiencing the transformations might be wondering if they will ever have their body and mind back.
Symptoms are fairly general but uncomfortable. They include nausea, constipation, abdominal pain, and even kidney stones. Excess calcium in the bloodstream can also cause mental confusion, leading to a diagnosis of dementia, although this is entirely treatable. Surgery is one course of treatment, but medication therapy and monitoring start out the process. Treatment aims to stop calcium being released from the bones, preventing osteoporosis and relieving the uncomfortable symptoms that arise from too much blood calcium. Kidney stones are a possible side effect because the release of calcium from the bones leads to an increase of phosphate which is got rid of by the kidneys. (Bones are made of calcium phosphate.)
Calcium is a mineral (think “chalk”) that affects body functions such as bone formation, the release of hormones and even muscle, brain, and nervous system functioning. The parathyroid hormone influences calcium absorption, release from the body, and its release into the system from the bones.
The Types Of Hyperparathyroidism
One of two types of hyperparathyroidism could be the culprit for putting too much calcium into the blood stream. In the primary variety, the parathyroid glands enlarge to overproduce parathyroid hormone to cause hypercalcemia (too much calcium). Surgeons can go in and remove one or more of the four glands to force regulation of the hormone after checking whether one or more of these glands is over active.
In secondary hyperparathyroidism, the gland appears to under-produce calcium and then increase its production too much. This is secondary to an underlying disease that does not originate in the parathyroid gland.
Therapy
Medication therapy inhibits the loss of calcium from the bones, and may include the use of Vitamin D which is good for bone health. Other medications may work to thwart high calcium levels.
Management And Monitoring
Once the elevated calcium levels are noted, medication is usually prescribed, along with a strong suggestion to increase physical activity, and monitoring of disease progression. Bone density tests, creatinine, and calcium levels will be monitored.
Surgery for Hyperparathyroidism
Surgery is the best option for high calcium levels that continue despite lifestyle changes. Surgery is also indicated if kidney stones are present, or where bone fractures and osteoporosis occur.
In this case, it is key to find a surgeon who is adept at reaching the tiny glands in the neck without harming the vocal chords, the airway, or any main arteries or veins. So if the problem is only a small one, your doctor may advise waiting to see whether medication is sufficient to keep the matter in check.
There are two forms of surgery. The traditional one requires a large incision. It takes longer to heal from this, and can cause hoarseness of the voice. The other is called mini parathyroid surgery. This is minimally invasive but requires a surgeon with a great deal of specialized experience. Its plus side is that it saves the patient from potential harm by targeting the parathyroid location, without cutting open the entire neck and recovery is much quicker.
Osteoporosis is an age-related condition that causes your bones to become extremely brittle. When bones become weak, they are less likely to be able to support the body weight they were built to handle. Bones become brittle when they become too stressed and damaged. The result is bones breaking apart in small fractures. Fractures are much more likely to occur when there is bone mass loss, as well as a lack of protein in the diet.
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