A Good Start to Bone Health
Our bone mass, the measure of strength of bones, develops in our younger years. We stop increasing bone by our thirties, but the vast majority is formed by the end of our teen years. In fact about one quarter of all our bone strength is developed in a two-year period starting at about 12 in girls and 14 in boys.
One of the biggest factors improving bone strength is fitness and exercise. Study after study shows that children that regularly exercise, especially with weight bearing and impact exercise have much stronger bone density. Children should be active in weight bearing a minimum of 60 minutes per day and participate in impact activity, such as running, gymnastics, running sports or jumping sports for at least three 15-minute sessions per week.
Maintaining Bone Strength as an Adult
As we move into adult life, especially in women that are postmenopausal there is a progressive loss of bone strength. Exercise has been found to curtail and even can mildly reverse this trend. Repeated studies show that by exercising with a mixture of weight bearing activity and resistance training women can prevent the onset of bone loss. Adopting exercise needs to be a lifetime commitment; it has been found in these studies that after stopping the exercise program the benefits are quickly lost.
A Special Case of Osteoporosis in the Female Athlete
There is a special condition in select female athletes where there can be bone loss at a younger age. This is in athletes that are under a lot of stress regarding performance, appearance and weight. They often develop a triad of symptoms; eating disorders leading to lack of menstruations and finally bone loss. When there are no menstruations the body no longer releases it’s normal hormone cycle and as a result bone is reabsorbed quicker than developed. This group requires professional multidisciplinary clinical help to resolve this condition.
Exercise and Osteoporosis
The importance of exercise in the younger and peri-menopausal years has been clearly demonstrated by scientific studies. Unfortunately there are few studies about exercise and people with osteoporosis. In these cases consultation with a physician regarding treatments and exercise guidelines are necessary on an individual basis.
One of the greatest fears in people with osteoporosis is the fear of fractures of the hip, wrist and spine though falling. Many studies have shown regular exercise in the elderly improve not only well-being, but improved balance and strength and less chances of falls.
It is not surprising that exercise has a benefit for all ages. Osteoporosis is one of the greatest public health issues today; the impact on an individual’s quality of life, life expectancy, health system costs and society costs is tremendous. One if five elderly with a hip fracture die within a year and up to 40% lose their ability to live independently due to hip fracture. Fitness and exercise throughout all ages of life will go along way to prevent this.