Bones are always at a risk of Osteoporosis, especially the spine, hip and wrist bones. They get stronger once you use them, so exercise acts as a medicine for people suffering from bone related diseases. If you're not worried about bone loss because you're young, keep in mind that weak bones can strike at any age and occur in both men and women, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Bones are also benefited if you lift and carry things. Weight training is ideal, but even carrying shopping bags, gardening and housework counts.
Why exercise?
Bones, likes muscles, are living tissues .Young women and men who exercise regularly generally have higher bone density and strength than those who do not. For most people, bone mass peaks during the third decade of life. After that time, we can begin to lose bone density and mass. Women and men older than age 20 can help prevent bone loss with regular exercise. Exercising allows us to maintain muscle strength, coordination, and balance, which in turn helps to prevent bone related issues and other medical conditions. This is especially important for older adults and people who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis.
Exercises for healthy bones
According to Dr. Jon Tobias, a professor of rheumatology at the University of Bristol who studies bone health, running and jumping are the most effective ways to improve bone health because these exercises create ground forces that move through the bones and stimulate them to reconstruct themselves. It even increases bone density.
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, the best exercises for building and maintaining bone density are:
Weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, that makes you work against gravity while staying upright.
Muscle-strengthening exercise, such as weight lifting, that makes you work against gravity in a standing, sitting, or prone position.
There are some non -impact activities which are posture related, balancing exercises and might help one get relief from bone related problems. Although these exercises don't build or maintain bone density, they may increase muscle strength and decrease the risk of falls and fractures.
If your doctor determines that it's not safe for you to perform high-impact weight-bearing exercises, he or she may recommend low-impact weight-bearing exercises that are less likely to cause fractures and also build and maintain bone density. These include:
elliptical training machines
low-impact aerobics
stair-step machines
walking (either outside or on a treadmill machine)
If you're new to exercise, or haven't exercised for a while, you should aim to gradually increase your level of weight-bearing exercises to 30 minutes per day on most days of the week.