Podcast 14

What Kind of Weight Bearing Exercise is Best for Osteoporosis?

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SHOW NOTES

Learn why strength training is the foundation to rebuilding bone strength and bone density and why osteoporosis isn’t a permanent sentence. Amy and Brian break down the research around bone density and strength training, what exercises you should do to strengthen the most vulnerable parts of your body, and what exercises you should avoid completely. 

• Many people are recommended to engage in weight bearing exercise to help deal with the effects of osteoporosis.
• Osteoporosis and osteopenia affect millions of people of which 80% are women. Research indicates that as many as 1 in 4 women over the age of 65 have low mineral content in their spine or femur.
• Just moving around isn’t going to cut it in terms of reversing osteoporosis. People can be very active and still suffer from osteoporosis.
• You need to exercise in more meaningful ways to deal with osteoporosis and this means proper strength training.
• Strength training improves every system of the body for the better, and this includes the skeletal system. The goal of this kind of strength training isn’t to increase bone mineral density; the aim is to prevent future fractures.
• When you look at it that way, strength is the lead domino in that it improves strength, balance, and bone density.
• Sarcopenia also weakens the bones as well as the muscles as we age, so aiming for strength first will also address osteoporosis.
• Strength also acts as a shock absorber in the case where you experience a high impact force.
• There are two schools of thought on how strength training affects bone density. The first says that the results are sight specific and load dependent. The second says that it’s due to hormonal factors.
• Other research shows that your bones will not get stronger without sufficient loads. We need the bones attached to the muscles to be loaded in order for our bodies to send signals to the bones to get stronger.
• We need to perform exercise that directly loads the bones we want to strengthen, as well as perform exercise that creates the metabolic stimulus that elicits a full spectrum release of miocines.
• Building stronger bones takes time – up to multiple years to really turn around bone loss – which is often more time than it takes to see other health and fitness results. This is a path we have to travel in order to apply the level of muscle loading we need to grow stronger bones.
• Bone strength is a marathon, not a sprint. The very first step to improving bone strength is to begin a safe, effective strength training program.
• There are a few exercises that should be prioritized to strengthen bones, typically movements that address the hips, legs, and lower back.
• For anyone with osteoporosis, they should avoid overhead pressing movements and twisting movements.

The ultimate aim is to prevent future osteoporotic fractures. And when we look at things in this way, we see that we really should be aiming at three things, improving strength, balance, and of course, also bone density.

Welcome to the Strength Changes Everything podcast. I’m Amy Hudson, exercise coach franchisee here with my co -host, CEO and co -founder of the exercise coach, Brian Sagan. Today, we are talking about osteoporosis. we actually meet a lot of people who have been told by their doctor that they really need to engage in some strength training or weight bearing exercise because of some bone mineral density issues and concern for developing osteoporosis or even having osteopenia. Brian, the question before us today that we want to talk about is what kind of weight bearing exercise is best for osteoporosis?

This is an important question. Osteoporosis and osteopenia affect millions of people. Probably about 80 % of them are women. And certainly, as people age, these become more of a risk. I’ve seen research indicating that over the age of 65, as many as one in four women actually have low bone mineral content in their spine or in their femur. So it is a significant issue and threat to optimal living.

And so the question is often asked, what is the best kind of weight bearing exercise for osteoporosis? And really in our view, to narrow this down and our answer is more specific than just weight exercise. There’s even research that indicates that just moving around isn’t gonna cut it in terms of reversing osteoporosis. And so, you know, life is weight -bearing. Life on the earth, which has gravity, is weight -bearing.

As long as we’re getting out of bed in the morning and putting our feet on the floor, we’re doing some weight -bearing activity and yet we meet people all the time. who are even more active than that, who say, I don’t get it. I’m very active. But I just found out I have osteopenia or osteoporosis. So we’ve got to we’ve got to do something smarter, more meaningful, more optimal and surprise. The answer is strength training.

You know what we call whole effort exercise or high intensity strength training. This podcast is called the Strength Changes Everything podcast. And we’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. That’s because strength changes every system of the body for the better. And this includes the skeletal system, proper strength training can actually improve the strength of one’s bones, even as they age. But the goal really isn’t increasing bone mineral density, at least it’s not only increasing bone mineral density, that is really a penultimate goal.

The ultimate aim is to prevent future osteoporotic fractures. And when we look at things in this way, we see that we really should be aiming at three things, improving strength, balance, and yes, of course, also bone density. But strength is the lead domino in this lineup. As people age, and they experience sarcopenia, the age -related loss of skeletal muscle, as a result of the usual aging process, they also experience a worsening in all the other systems of the body, including the skeletal system. So bones get weaker as the muscles get weaker as people age.

So the good news is muscle can also serve as a powerful engine that can reverse the effects of the usual aging process. As we strengthen muscles, it can lead to a strengthening of one’s bones. But we need to really be aiming at strength first. First of all, again, we want to prevent future osteoporotic fractures. This means improving balance so people as they age don’t experience falls. Strength also acts as a shock absorber.

so that we don’t experience as much damage if we do experience a high impact force or a fall. And how do we go about building the kind of strength that will actually be best for preventing future fractures and improving bone density? As it relates to improving bone density, actually lately there’s been some debate about what exactly is happening and how exactly strengthening is improving bone density and so the debate is between this view that says strength training or the results actually of strengthening our bones as a result of strength training are site -specific and load dependent versus the view that says no this is more of a hormonal result or it’s the result of a hormonal of factors. And I believe it’s best just to take a both and approach. And I think the research actually shows that both direct loading of bone and the more systemic effect of hormones are what leads to the best improvement in bone density.

And some of the research that to me is compelling related to a site -specific and load -dependent focus would include research that says, for example, areas like the spine don’t improve in bone density unless they’re directly loaded. This would be one example. And just incidentally, at The Exercise Coach, we actually utilize a back machine that is patented specifically for its ability to provide precisely directly opposing resistance to the spine. So it’s really ideal for the purpose of strengthening the back and strengthening the spine. There’s also research that’s shown no effect from strength training, unless the loads used are of a sufficient magnitude. We can perform strength training, but if we’re not using a heavy enough load, There is a lot of research that actually shows your bones aren’t going to get stronger as a result.

And then, as I mentioned before, there’s research that indicates in some studies that simply walking or doing aerobic exercise really had no effect. And there’s even some interesting studies that show after hip replacement surgery, if one of the muscles of the hip is removed, called the abductor muscle, that actually leads to a worsening of bone density in the femur. It’s just demo. that we need the bones that attach the muscles to be loaded in order for our bodies to send a signal to the bones to stay strong or get stronger. That being said, there is also research now on the myokine front. Myokines are muscle derived hormones.

They’re just hormones secreted by our muscles. Our muscles are actually endocrine or hormone secreting hormones. organs. And there’s research that indicates that circulating levels of one specific myokine known as interleukin -15 is connected with stronger bones. So again, I think a both -and approach is best. We want to perform strength training exercise that will directly load the skeletal system in the manner that we need to target the areas that matter most, especially the hip and the spine.

And then we want to perform exercise that provides the type of metabolic stimulus that will elicit a full spectrum release of myokines. And now not to oversimplify, but fortunately, this is exactly what we’ve built into our 20 -minute coach -led workouts powered by Excerbotics at The Exercise Coach. And especially the eccentric loading that occurs during these workouts contribute to providing the kind of adequate muscle loading needed to stimulate improvements in bone strength. And so, Amy, this is why our first goal with people is always to build strength. It’s even to just educate them on being able to exert in a manner that is going to be optimal. Building stronger bones takes time.

It takes more time for your bones to get stronger than me. of the results that we want. Typically, we can see changes in blood pressure and blood sugar, metabolic things like this very quickly. But it can take one year, two years and even more to see all the results that we’d like to see in terms of turning around bone loss and strengthening bones. And so when we start a client and they see a 30 % increase in their strength in the first month. This is amazing.

This is something to be celebrated. It’s largely a neurological result though. Their bones haven’t gotten stronger in the first month. The point though is this, that this is the path that we have to travel, that they have to travel to get to the point where they can apply the kind of muscle loading that will stimulate a strengthening of the bones. Many people, especially depending on age and physical fitness level, actually get to the point in life where they’re not strong enough to apply a stimulus that will actually strengthen the bones. And so the first thing we need to do is just get them strong enough to do that, to apply what’s known as an osteoanabolic stimulus, just meaning that the exercise that we’re doing will actually trigger the body to grow stronger bone.

Wow. That makes a lot of sense, Brian. So what you’re saying as far as bone strength is that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

And the very first step to improving bone strength is ultimately to begin a safe, effective strength training program to start building initial strength. That’s exactly it.

You got it.

So Brian, are there any exercises that are more important than others when it comes to building bone strength or any that should be avoided? That’s a great question. There definitely are some exercises that should be prioritized. And for example, at the exercise coach, we have machines that specifically address the hip musculature, like a hip abduction machine, and also a leg pressing machine that we utilize. We also have, as I mentioned, a lower back strengthening device. so that we can directly target the muscles that actually attach to the spine and get good results in terms of improvements in spinal bone density.

These are the movements that really should be prioritized especially and beyond that just inclusion of the movements necessary for a good total body workout. are important. And then there are some movements to be avoided. For example, someone with severe osteoporosis should avoid overhead pressing movements and also twisting movements.

These are some things that we would actually avoid if someone does have severe osteoporosis. Yeah, I think that’s awesome and it makes so much sense. I’m actually going to share a testimonial about this topic, if I could, from Mary from Illinois. Sometimes listening to real people’s stories really hammers home the connection between the science and the approach and then the way it translates into real people’s lives. And so Mary says the best decision I made was to begin working out with the trainers at the exercise coach. I have been plagued with lower back issues since my teens and was diagnosed with osteoporosis in my 50s.

Since I began my workouts with the exercise coach, not only has my back pain disappeared, but my bone density scan results have improved for the first time. My doctor was extremely pleased with these results and encouraged me to continue my workout routine. I love how the trainers take time to listen to your desired goals and work with you to develop a personalized workout to meet those goals. The trainers are knowledgeable, kind, patient, and fun to work with. So that’s Mary’s story.

Isn’t that awesome, Brian? It is awesome.

Thanks for sharing that, Amy. Yes, so we love to meet clients exactly where they’re at, no matter what their goals. As we know, strength changes everything, every system of the body. So whatever result matters most to you, safe, effective and efficient strength training can help you reach it. Some are fast, some are slow. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

But if you are interested in giving the 20 minute customized workout designed to build bone density, to improve metabolic health to improve strength, energy, stamina, brain health and hormonal health. We encourage you to visit exercisecoach . com and register for two free sessions at a location near you. Thanks for listening and we will be back with you next week on the strength changes everything podcast. Have a great day.