Safe Movement with Osteoporosis or Osteopenia + Video Clip

Safe Movement with Osteoporosis or Osteopenia + Video Clip

For years, I have wanted to make a short YouTube video showing exercises to avoid if you have low bone density (osteopenia) or osteoporosis. I pulled a clip on safety out of my recent video, Safe Strength Training for Osteoporosis Prevention. Check it out on YouTube!

Crunches aren't good for the neck or back!


Crunches aren’t good for the neck or back!  Don’t do them!! Keep your upper body on the floor when doing abdominal exercises.

The basic moves that you should avoid with low bone density or osteoporosis are:
Don’t bend forward at the waist.
Don’t twist to the point of strain.
Don’t twist AND bend forward from the waist.

Instead, hinge from the hips when you need to bend down, using your legs and knees for support, not your back. Adjusting your position just a little can make a big difference in your safety.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) has a wealth of excellent information on how to move safely throughout your day.

Here’s another link to WebMD on how strength training can help prevent bone loss and ways to get started.

Do you have friends or family who need to move more safely? Please share this post! If you’re on Facebook, take a look at my page for interesting online articles and be sure to “Like” it to stay in touch. Thanks!

Comments (Scroll to the bottom to leave your comment)

  1. Is it possible to reverse osteoporosis? I have read differing opinions. Thanks.
    Karen

  2. Hello, Karen!

    The effect that exercise has on bone building depends on one’s age. Bone density is built during the childhood years and is completed by age 30. After that, it’s a matter of keeping what you have built.

    Small gains have been shown in the middle and older adult years. With post-menopausal women, the research does show improvements in bone mineral density and it’s usually around 1%, with the control group that doesn’t exercise having a loss of around 1-2%.

    Scientists usually consider 1% “holding steady”, but if it’s kept up year after year, that is a lot of bone not lost at a time when the natural tendency of the body is to lose bone. Research has shown that with consistent, long-term training, bone loss can be can be halted and falls greatly reduced, which is a tremendous accomplishment because most hip fractures occur from a fall, as well as 50% of vertebral fractures. If a person builds their strength and agility so that they don’t fall down, the lifetime risk of fracture is greatly reduced.

    Another thing that muscle strengthening exercise can do, but isn’t easily measured, is increase the quality of bone…increasing the strength and the ability of the bone to flex and not break, even without a change in bone mineral density. Small amounts of research have been done, notably one by Dr. M. Sinaki of the Mayo Clinic that showed fewer vertebral fractures in participants, 8 years after a 2-year back strengthening study.
    Link to study: https://improveposturenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/YPPDF-Osteoporosis_study_Bone2002.pdf

    Best wishes,
    Susie