Getting physical – exercise to keep bones stronger for longer
Exercise is essential for building bone strength. It can also help us maintain muscle strength, coordination, and balance, which in turn helps to prevent falls and related fractures. This is especially important for older adults and people who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis.
Visit our exercise and fitness hub for older adults and see the types of recommended exercise to try.
Exercising later in life not only helps to increase bone density but also improves flexibility and stability, reducing the chances of a fall. Studies suggest that older people who walk outside every day for just 20 minutes, are less likely to suffer a fracture.12
Type of exercise
The best types of exercise for building and maintaining strong bones is a combination of weight-bearing, resistance and balance training exercises.13
Weight-bearing exercises – where you’re supporting the weight of your own body. These cover a wide range of activities, including brisk walking, jogging, hiking, aerobics, climbing stairs, skipping, tennis or dancing. So there’s something for everyone, regardless of age, agility or fitness level.
Resistance exercises – using resistance bands or the machines found in gyms and increasingly in parks and other public spaces. Dancing and even gardening can also come into this category.
Exercises that involve resistance or lifting weights boost bone health. If the whole idea of weights is a little daunting, exercises as simple as lifting a tin of beans up and down while you’re watching TV can help to strengthen your wrists – a common area for osteoporosis to cause broken bones.
Other muscle-strengthening exercises to try include yoga, and pilates.
We would suggest talking to your GP to rule out osteoporosis or any physical issues that may limit your choice of activity. You may also want to consider working with a personal trainer to assess your ability.
Other lifestyle factors to consider that can lead to osteoporosis
Smoking – this has been shown to increase the risk of developing osteoporosis and the risk of bone fracture.14 Smoking has also been shown to impair the bone healing process after a break.
If you smoke, the best thing you can do to protect your bones is to quit smoking. Even those who stop later in life can help limit smoking-related bone loss.
Excessive alcohol consumption – this can be detrimental to bone health both physiologically – by interfering with our calcium levels and the production of certain bone-protecting hormones – and by increasing our risk of a fall.15
Even relatively small amounts make us more vulnerable to accidents and injury and as with smoking, a list of related health and other problems.
Are you at risk?
Many factors influence whether you are likely to develop osteoporosis. You are more at risk if you:
- are female,
- have had irregular periods, an early menopause or a hysterectomy before 45,
- have a family history of osteoporosis or fractures,
- are of European or Asian descent,
- are over 60,
- have suffered from an eating disorder or are underweight,
- have a calorie-restricted diet – low calorie diets (<1000kcal) have been linked with loss of bone density even when combined with exercise,16
- have taken long-term steroid medication,
- drink to excess,
- smoke,
- have a medical condition that affects food absorption such as Crohn’s disease or coeliac disease,
- are a man with low levels of testosterone,
- have reduced mobility,
- are pregnant.
If you have three or more of the risk factors above – particularly if you are post-menopausal – or if you have suffered a fracture after a minor fall, it's a good idea to talk to your GP about having a scan.
This can measure your bone mineral density and assess whether you have osteoporosis or are at increased risk of developing it.
References
- Peak Bone Density age – Orthoinfo
- Osteoporosis – NHS
- DEXA Scan – NHS
- Fragility Fractures – NIH
- Osteoporosis – Age UK
- Women at more risk of Osteoporosis – NHS
- Epidemiology of fractures – NIH
- Calcium stores – NIH
- Calcium – British Dietetic Association (BDA)
- Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium – NHS
- Nutrition for bones – Royal Osteoporosis Society
- Physical Activity and Risk of Fracture – Journal of Bone and Mineral Research
- Exercises for bone health – NIH
- Smoking and osteoporosis – NIH
- Alcohol and osteoporosis – NIH
- Low calorie intake and bone health – NIH