Did you know?
After the age of 50
1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men in NZ will suffer a fracture?
These alarming statistics are due to the nature of osteoporotic bones that quite literally become brittle and fracture very easily sometimes following a seemingly minor incident such a sneeze or awkward lift.
Why is this a ‘silent’ disease?
Because most older adults don’t know their bones have become osteoporotic.
They find out when they suffer a fragility fracture.
This is tragic because there are interventions that can help stop bone loss and reduce the risk of suffering a fracture.
What do you need to do?
Assess your risk.
This can be done very simply via an online risk assessment test by clicking on this link.
https://www.iofbonehealth.org/iof-one-minute-osteoporosis-risk-test.
If your risk is high please visit your GP.
Follow good bone health advice.
- Eat plenty of calcium-rich foods, ensuring you produce sufficient Vitamin D
- Get out in the sunshine
- Exercise to keep bones strong.
What kind of exercise is best?
The exercise you do needs to be weight bearing to benefit bone health.
Brisk walking, dancing and other sports where you are supporting all your weight against gravity.
Resistance exercise is important too. You can utilize any kind of weight or load – including body weight – to strengthen muscles and to load the bones.
(The best example of non-weight bearing exercise or activity is swimming; while swimming is a great exercise – it can be soothing to joints and can have a cardiovascular benefit if you work hard enough – it is not weight-bearing.)
Two things to Remember:
Gravity is your bones’ best friend
and
What is good for muscles is also good for bones.
For further information head over the Osteoporosis NZ at https://osteoporosis.org.nz/
Kris says:
It is never too early to start and never too late to begin!
Do you have any tips or stories to share?
Exercise Specialist, Kris Tynan.
Watch out for more great exercise and lifestyle tips from Kris Tynan next month.
Hi Kris I Water Walk for 1hr -In the local pool I do 3 lots of ten body pull ups & about 1/2 hr of gen exercises for my back (disc lesion in 1967) and 3 lots of ten on each leg – 3 times a week – I`m always on my feet & never sit for hours on end -Most time I stand up at the bench to eat -Eat a healthy diet (Diabetic type 1) 74yrs old this April – I get out in the garden every now and then -The only thing I don`t do is walk(although I do walk around the malls) I know I could do a 1/2 hr walk round the streets but I find that boring.
I have a stepper (ecliptacle) gathering dust in my bedroom -I should really get on it
Do you think I`m doing enough
Many thanks Chris Reynolds
I use a vibra train machine, is this a good option for bones as well as muscles?
Hi Christine,
I applaud your level of activity which is great! and by all means, keep up everything you are doing. I would recommend that you try to incorporate a brisk walk most days but only 10 mins worth (to reduce the boredom factor!) as this will provide a weight-bearing challenge for your bones that being in the water doesn’t do.
Regards, Kris
Hi Pauline,
According to the research, PowerPlate and similar vibration machines seem to provide the bone stimulus required so yes you can assume anything good for the muscles is also good for the bones. Regards and Keep Moving!
Kris