Osteoporosis is a major cause of disability in older women. A bone-weakening disorder, osteoporosis often results in fractures in the hip and spine â€” which can severely impair your mobility and independence.Â However, you should know that osteoporosis and bone loss are not a normal part of getting older. Â Things you can do to prevent bone loss include eating right and exercising more.
Exercise is important for both the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Even if youâ€™ve already been diagnosed with the condition, a regular workout program can keep you from losing more bone mass. Weight-bearing exercises are the most helpful, like walking, jogging, dancing, and tennis. These activities make your body work against gravity to keep you upright and moving. Â Your bones react to the weight on them by building themselves up and getting stronger.
A regular, properly designed exercise program may also actually help prevent falls and fractures. That’s because exercise not only strengthens bones and muscles and gives joints more support; exercise improves balance, coordination, and flexibility. Â That’s key for people with osteoporosis.
There are two types of weight-bearing exercise: high-impact and low-impact. High-impact includes workouts like:
Tennis or other racquet sports
Yard work, like pushing a lawnmower or heavy gardening
But be cautious: Â High-impact weight-bearing exercises may not be safe for you if you have a higher chance of breaking a bone. Talk to your doctor about your workout routine. They may recommend that you focus on low-impact exercises that are less likely to cause fractures and still build up your bone density. These include:
Elliptical training machines
Walking (either outside or on a treadmill machine)
If you’re new to exercise or haven’t worked out for a while, you should aim to gradually increase the amount you do until you get to 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercise per day on most days of the week.