Build Bone Strength With Weight-Bearing Exercise

If you are a postmenopausal woman, you are at risk for osteoporosis—having weak, brittle bones that are more susceptible to fracture. The good news is, doing simple exercises can improve your bone strength and reduce your fracture risk.

“The effect of exercise on bone health results from the strain on bone created by weight-bearing exercise,” explains Polly de Mille, RN, RCEP, clinical supervisor at the Tisch Sports Performance Center of the Weill Cornell-affiliated Hospital for Special Surgery. “Strain causes a release of molecular signals in the bone that lead to the synthesis of new bone, which makes the bone stronger at the exact site where the strain is applied.”

Activities That Benefit Bones

Weight-bearing exercise is any activity you do that works your bones and muscles against gravity. Walking, jogging, racquet sports, stair climbing, dancing, hiking, jumping rope, aerobic exercise classes, and weight lifting are some of the activities that can help strengthen bones. Other terms for these types of activities are “load-bearing” and “strength-building.”

Here are recommendations from deMille for bone-strengthening exercise:

Exercise in short bouts. “Bone gets stimulated fairly quickly and reaches a saturation point, meaning there’s no benefit to doing more; it’s better to do 10 repetitions twice daily than 20 repetitions all at once.”

Work your whole body. “If a bone-density measurement pinpoints weak bones in the wrists and hips, that doesn’t mean you work only those areas. Osteoporosis affects the whole body, so you need to do exercises that target not only the wrists and hips, but also the shoulders, knees, and ankles.”

Vary how you work your muscles. “Bones are stimulated by the way the tendons pull on the bone, so it’s important to work the muscles in different ways. An example is doing leg lifts in different directions—forward, back, and to the side—rather than simply front or back.”

If You Have Osteoporosis

If you have already been diagnosed with osteoporosis, exercises can still benefit your bones, but you need to be cautious to prevent fractures.

Avoid jumping and other high-impact activities. If you have osteoporosis, jumping can fracture bones. Also avoid crunches or other activities that involve bending forward.

Add weights to your exercises. “The idea behind bone-building exercise is to add stress to the bones a bit at a time. As you get stronger, add small amounts of weight gradually to continue building bone while working out safely,” advises de Mille.

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