EXERCISE & BONE HEALTH

As a physical therapist I am frequently asked “How do I get my bones stronger?” Now that is a superb question! We should always be concerned about “bone health”. If you are a parent of little ones, an aging grandparent or somewhere in the between, bone health is important to all of us regardless of gender or age.

While we are young, under the age of 30 we should be taking in adequate Calcium and Vitamin D and getting plenty of regular exercise to build our bone mass. Studies have found bone mass is greatest between the age of 25 to 35. Our bodies do a great job of generating and regenerating bone up until about 35 to 40 years old. The job of bone growth is a little more difficult after that and we have to be more deliberate in our attempts to keep our bones healthy. In women, menopause means decrease in estrogen production which causes the shedding of calcium, making bones weak. As we get older, we become less active, more sedentary and fail to stress the long bones causing our bones to get more brittle.

And this brings me back to that first question “How do I get my bones stronger?” If you are over the age of 35 you need to exercise! The CDC recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise* for good health; this includes bone health. Stress on the long bones helps to prevent further loss of bone density. Regular exercise including weight bearing cardiovascular exercise and strength training has been shown to help prevent bone loss. Your body does not generate new bone after a certain age so you have to focus on keeping the bone mass you have. Maintaining good bone health depends on you! If you are wondering which exercises to do, choose exercise that allow the most weight bearing; walking, dancing, stair climbing, hiking, Tai Chi, just to name a few. Don’t be surprised if you see other benefits from regular exercise.

(*Moderate exercise is getting your heart rate between 70-80% of your target heart rate. Target heart rate is 220-age; ie: 220-50=170; 70-80% would be 120-155 BPM heart rate)

For more information on bone health, please link to the article from the American Academy of Orthopeadic Surgeons:

https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/staying-healthy/exercise-and-bone-health/

Have more questions or don’t know where to start? Consider giving Nicole a call to get started on a personalized program.