Do you know much about bone health/bone density or osteoporosis? 

What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is defined as reduced bone density, and it leaves bone brittle, and at higher risk of fracture when an osteoporotic person had a fall or any other high-impact incident. Osteoporosis is a very common condition in Australia, and it was estimated that approximately 3.8% of the Australian population has osteoporosis, and it leads to over 170,000 fractures each year. 

Osteoporosis is generally diagnosed with bone scan. Common osteoporotic areas such as the lumbar spine and hip will usually be scanned, and data will be calculated and transformed into a number called the T-score. According to the World Health Organisation, a T-score below -2.5 will be classified as Osteoporosis, and osteopenia is the pre-osteoporosis stage. 

How to manage osteoporosis?

To maintain and improve bone health/bone density, outside medication, there are other things that can help you. One of the most important and effective interventions is EXERCISE. 

Exercise, especially high intensity resistance exercises, has been shown to be effective in maintaining and even improving bone density. Think about bones as muscles. To increase muscle strength, we would need to perform resistance exercises, so that the muscles adapt and get stronger. Similar concept applies to bones. 

Some people with osteoporosis may be worried about performing exercise, as they are worried that they might injure themselves. However, research has shown that osteoporosis patients can safely perform exercises as long as they have the correct techniques, and under professional supervision.

Our Bone Health exercise class aims at utilising high intensity weighted exercises to help participants to improve their bone health. In addition, we will also perform some balance training to maximise participants’ balance ability, and minimise risk of falling. It will be fully supervised by our physiotherapists or exercise physiologists to ensure safety and optimal exercise technique.

Additionally, diet also plays an important role in bone health. Our bodies require many different nutrients to maintain our bone health, and it’s not just calcium and vitamin D. Different people have different genetics and body compositions, and therefore to optimise your diet and maximise your bone health, it would be beneficial to have a naturopathy consult with our degree-qualified naturopath, to develop a suitable and individualised health and diet plan!