Osteoporosis - Increase Muscle Strength

The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that 50% of women and 25% of men over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture during their lifetime and 20% of seniors who suffer from an osteoporosis related fracture die within one year.

The best protection against osteoporosis is incorporating physical activity in your daily routine.  If you increase the stress on your bones through exercise, they will respond by growing bigger and stronger.  Don't use your bones and they will weaken from lack of use.

The most effective way to strengthen bone and protect against osteoporosis-related fractures is by increasing muscle strength.  Swimming and biking are excellent for cardiovascular conditioning, but weight-bearing exercises like walking, running, lifting weights or even stretch bands will help protect against osteoporosis while strengthening your bones.  If you do have osteoporosis, start off slowly, do exercises using the stretch bands first while incorporating the use of lighter weights.

In Dr. Fuhrman's DVD, Osteoporosis Protection For Life, he combines dietary advice, supplements and special bone-strengthening exercises, offering a significant improvement over drug treatment for osteopenia and osteoporosis.  Dr. Fuhrman gives people the information they need in this DVD to put an effective osteoporosis prevention plan into action.

For women, in addition to the usual weight-bearing exercises, Dr. Fuhrman recommends wearing a weighted vest to strengthen your bones.  Wearing a weighted vest not only helps strengthen the bones, but burns more calories, increases your core strength and stabilizes muscles which then improves your balance and helps to decrease the chances of falls.  Note: If you do suffer from compressed fractures of the spine as a result of your osteoporosis, seek the advice of your doctor before adding this weighted vest to your exercise routine.

Shared with: the healthy home economist