Osteoporosis exercise is a special set of body movements using certain muscles and moving certain joints with calculated levels of resistance. The purpose of osteoporosis exercise is to help osteoporosis patients in two areas:
1. Strengthen their muscles that help in:
a. balancing to avoid falls, and
b. protect (cushion) the bones from the impact of hits to a certain level.
2. Put a straine on the bones that’s required to induce the building of new bones.
Some sources claim that the anabolic effect of exercise can “reverse” osteoporosis. This claim (where I found it on Wikipidia) was not supported by a reference at the time of writing this article. But at least they are documented to help in reducing the speed by which bone mass is lost.
In the following articles on this website I’ll be doing more research and interviewing osteoporosis specialists around this issue. I am hopeful that I’ll find a solid evidence that exercising can reverse osteoporosis for at least a cergain category of osteoporosis patients.
Until I am done with my research there are three things that I want to share with all fellow osteoporosis patients:
1. Preventing falls has a higher priority than finding a cure. Let’s face it. Our bones are fragile and a simple low impact fall might be enough to send us home if it was in the hips or the spine. Until someone figures out how to reverse it, and until the cure works on us we need to preserve what we have.
2. The anabolic effect of exercise is not only important in preserving our bones, it also helps maintain the heart and brain cells. (An insulin-like growth factor that’s induced in the muscles during an exercise [Scheett et al., 1999]). But please don’t start exercising until you discuss your options with your doctor.
3. Exercise without nutrition is worthless. Well .. not 100% worthless, but won’t be as effective as when accompanied by the right nutrition. If you have access to a nutritionist specialized in osteoporosis diets that will be great. If not, please hang around until I finish my research and post it somewhere on this website.