How Can I Improve My Bone Density?
Have you been told or are you concerned that your bones are not as strong as they once were? This can happen when your body is no longer producing new bone cells as effectively as it used to. This means your bones can become brittle, and can be prone to fracture. This can occur throughout the skeleton or be localized to a specific area.
This process is known as Osteoporosis. This bone health condition affects up to 2.2 million Australians! With the condition so common, a question we are regularly asked is “can I improve my bone density and how?”
The good news is, regular exercise can help to maintain your bone density and can even help to improve it. The two best ways to do this are through impact and resistance training.
By impact training we mean loading the skeleton in ways it is not normally accustomed to. By loading the bones in new ways we stimulate the process of bone formation. This helps to maintain and can even begin to increase your bone density.
High Impact exercises may include jumping, skipping, stair climbing, dancing, or jogging.
Other lower impact exercises such as walking, swimming and cycling are great for cardiovascular health but do not provide sufficient impact to effectively improve your bone density. Impact exercises must be new, and something you are not already accustomed to so It is important to consider your current lifestyle and activities as well as individual ability level when choosing impact loading exercises that are right for you.
Resistance training is an umbrella term, meaning exercise using weights. This may include dumbbells, resistance bands, weight machines or even your own body weight. This helps to strengthen both your muscles and bones and reduces your risk of injury or fracture.
Resistance training must be high intensity, this means it must be challenging and your weights must feel heavy! A great way to gauge your intensity is to use an RPE score. If 1 out of 10 feels like nothing and 10 out of 10 means you could only do one rep and not more, you should be working at a 7-8 out of 10! This means 70-80% of your maximum capacity!
It is important to work through a full body program but also to include exercises targeted to your affected area for example the hip or spine.
The main thing to be Cautious about when exercising with osteoporosis is your risk of a fall. As your bones are weakened this places you at increased risk of a fracture if you should fall over.
This means that Balance training is particularly important - to help you reduce your risk of having a fall in the first place!
This being said it is important to
Work in safe limits
Support such as handrail if needed
Have some supervision when trying new or particularly challenging exercises.
If your Osteoporosis is very severe, particularly through your spine you may need to be cautious with bending or twisting movements as these may increase your risk of a compression fracture.
As always it is important to ensure you are performing all exercises with good form and correct technique and are constantly challenging yourself! If you're not sure just ask!