Exercise and Nutrition for Healthy Bones

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Osteoporosis is a degenerative bone condition that causes bones to become more porous, gradually making them weaker, more brittle and susceptible to breakage. One in two women and one in three men over the age of 60 will have a fracture related to osteoporosis.

Once we hit 30, our bones slowly decrease in density. In order to maintain bone density, we need to ensure we are getting enough calcium, vitamins and minerals and the right type of exercise.

In order to build and maintain strong, healthy bones, our bodies need enough calcium (among other minerals) plus the right amounts of hormones which include oestrogen (in women) or testosterone (in men). This is the reason that women become more susceptible to osteoporosis after menopause. Post-menopausal women in particular should also avoid high protein diets as this speeds up the leaching of calcium from your bones.

Our bodies also need an adequate supply of Vitamin D so that we can efficiently absorb the calcium from our food. The best source of Vitamin D is of course, sunlight. In Australia, we only need to get 6-8 minutes of exposure to the sun’s rays on our face, arms and hands on most days to generate enough Vitamin D for our bodies (up to 30 minutes in winter).

And of course to prevent issues related to skin cancers it is best to ensure that this exposure occurs before 10am and/or after 3pm. A small amount of Vitamin D is also found in fatty fish and eggs, but if you think you might be deficient, you can take a supplement.

The most common source of Calcium is dairy foods. But for those of us who might be dairy intolerant, calcium can also be found in other foods such as salmon, sardines, broccoli, spinach, baked beans, peas, brussel sprouts, sesame seeds, bok choy, almonds and rhubarb. We need to be aiming for 1000mg Calcium per day, or 1300mg if over the age of 70. The easiest way to do this is to aim to have 3-4 servings a day of a calcium rich food.

Osteoporosis Australia recommends weight bearing exercise and strength/resistance training for healthy bones. Moderate intensity weight bearing exercise is fast walking, jogging, dancing, tennis, volleyball, jumping, netball and golf. High intensity weight bearing exercise is aerobics and running. Strength/resistance training is lifting weights.

In order to maintain healthy bones it is better to do a shorter, but faster walk of about 15 minutes, than it would be to do a long, slow walk of about an hour. But ultimately you’d want to build up to being able to sustain a 30 minute brisk walk. Exercise also needs to be continuous, regular, vigorous, varied, and progressive to have the best effect on your bone density.

So that means you should be trying for high intensity bursts of activity during your workout, plus progressively increasing the weights, and/or repetitions during strength training. Heavy strength training has been shown to reduce the onset of osteoporosis because it overloads the muscles making them stronger. (Stronger muscles pull harder on the bones they are moving which force the bones to get stronger.)

If however, you have other conditions that prevent you from being able to exercise more vigorously, start off slowly and build up over a longer time-frame.

If you have already been diagnosed with osteoporosis, it is important that to consult your physician or a physiotherapist/exercise physiologist about an exercise program as there a number of things you must avoid such as sudden twisting, abdominal crunches (sit-ups) and lumbar flexion (bending forward from the waist).

For those of us who are looking to prevent the onset of osteoporosis here’s an example of an exercise program that you might like to begin with and build upon.

I’ve written this based on an outdoor routine (so that you are getting your Vitamin D intake at the same time). It also uses some resistance tubing that can be purchased quite cheaply at many supermarket chains or department stores and sporting stores (it is also light and can be easily carried on your walk). Resistance tubing is graded according to the levels of resistance. You can increase resistance yourself by placing more tension on the tubing prior to doing the exercise or holding both handles in one hand and doing one arm at a time.

Exercise program for preventing Osteoporosis

(Please note:)

Not necessarily suitable for someone who has been diagnosed with osteoporosis.

You should consult your physician and or physiotherapist prior to doing any exercise program.

If you have blood pressure issues or heart conditions you should consult your physician prior to performing this program. Generally you should not lift weight above your head and you should aim to do unilateral training (one arm at a time). It is also recommended that you keep your exercise intensity at a level of 3 out of 10, unless your doctor says otherwise. You should be able to maintain a conversation while exercising.)

Weight Bearing Activity

Brisk walking

2 Jumps on the spot after 2.5 minutes and then at 5 minutes

(Build this up to 15-30 minutes of fast walking with the 2 jumps every 2.5 minutes. As you find it easier, change the route to include hills. Or increase the number of jumps until you are doing 50 jumps throughout the walk.)

Strength Exercise for Chest/Shoulders/Arms/Abdominals

On a park bench seat perform standing pushups (which are like a wall pushup but using the back of the park bench seat.) Begin with 2 sets of 5 pushups and then build up to eventually doing 3 sets of 12-15reps. Once you find this easy, you can then try pushups on your knees and then straight leg pushups. If you are unsure of correct pushup technique you can consult my video.

Alternatively you can wrap the resistance tubing around the park bench or a light pole or small tree and with your back to the pole, hold the handles of the resistance tubing in each hand and move away from the pole until there is some tension on the tubing.

Standing firmly, keeping the tummy firm against your spine, take a step forward with one leg and extend the arm on the same side straight out in front of your body (as if throwing a punch or pushing something, but taking care not to lock the elbow). Alternate sides for 1-2 minutes. Adjust the tension by moving closer to or further away from the pole.

If you cannot extend your arm move closer to the pole. If you find it easy, move further away from the pole and/or extend both arms each time while alternating legs.

Strength Exercise for Lower Body (Legs, Buttocks, Abdominals)

If the park bench is low enough you could do some step ups onto the bench or alternatively find a heap of stairs on your walk and walk up and down them a couple of times (if you are a beginner, start with whatever you can manage and then aim to increase it each week).

Alternatively you could do some squats on the bench seat. If you are a beginner, start with just sitting down and standing back up and build up to a proper squat over time. Once you find that easy you can add a weight while squatting.

Ensure that you have good technique when squatting to maximize the benefits of the exercise and minimize injury. Your feet should be around shoulder width apart, and mostly facing straight/slight V. You should keep your tummy firm against your spine and breathe in as you bend and breathe out as you stand.

Your bottom should move back first (as if you were going to sit down), your torso will bend forward slightly while looking straight ahead, and then your knees bend, ensuring your knees stay behind your toes.

When done correctly, your back will be parallel with your tibia bone (shin bone). It is also important that your knees don’t track in or out. If you are having difficulty with this, try clenching your buttocks as this can help. Wrapping the resistance tubing around your legs may help prevent tracking in.

Strength Exercise for Back/Shoulders/Arms/Abdominals

Using a tree or a lamp post or the back of the park bench again, wrap the resistance tubing around a pole and perform 1-2 minutes of “rowing”.

When doing this exercise make sure you have good technique. Ensure your tummy is firm against your spine and your shoulder’s are back and down.

Concentrate on keeping this posture as you pull your elbows back in a rowing stroke. Keep your elbows close to your body as you flex them and try to keep your upper body still throughout the motion. Try not to let your chin poke forward.

Balance exercises

Try walking slowly with your knees high

Stand on one leg at a time for as long as you can (close your eyes if you find this easy)

Stretching

Perform some stretches at the end of your walk. You should stretch each of your major muscles groups… quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, back, chest, arms.

Looking for more articles about Osteoporosis?

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