The World Health Organization says a sedentary lifestyle even contributes to osteoporosis. Sitting at a desk all day, typing, and peering at a computer screen also have negative effects on joint health.
Lean forward at the hips with a straight back to reach your foot. Do not allow your upper back to slouch. Keep the natural inward curve of your lower back and a straight upper back. If you are sitting for long time and your feet do not touch the ground, use a footstool to keep your hips and knees horizontal.
Sitting down slowly and gently is critical for osteoporosis to prevent injury when landing hard – even in a soft chair.
Many soft drinks and certain other carbonated soft drinks contain phosphoric acid, which can increase calcium excretion in your urine. And nearly all soft drinks lack calcium. That combination spells trouble for women at risk of osteoporosis.
Bone-strengthening program
An exercise program for osteoporosis should include four components: Weight-bearing exercises force your body to work against gravity, which helps to strengthen bones. Examples include walking, climbing stairs, playing tennis, and dancing.
Beverage options that are better choices include calcium and vitamin D-fortified juices, plain or chocolate milk, or flavored waters. While caffeine is widely believed to have some health benefits, it is also proven to deplete calcium from bones.
People with osteoporosis may not have any symptoms. Some may have pain in their bones and muscles, particularly in their back. Sometimes a collapsed vertebra may cause severe pain, decrease in height, or spinal deformity. The symptoms of osteoporosis may look like other bone disorders or health problems.
Weight-bearing Exercise for Osteoporosis
Walking as little as three to five miles a week can help build your bone health. For general health, most experts recommend that everyone get at least half an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise five times a week. Forty-five minutes to an hour is even better.
Osteoporosis can lead to immobility, which means you may not be able to move as freely as you did before. Walking seems so simple—until you're not able to do it easily. But, there's good news: If osteoporosis has slowed you down, you can regain your mobility and independence.
Bending forward with osteoporosis. Bending forward is generally safe and won't cause a spinal fracture. But you may 'over-flex' your spine if you push yourself to the limit.
The structure of the individual bones and the spine as a whole contribute to its ability to withstand large and varying loads during daily activities. Bed rest may allow the structure of the weakened bone to gain some stability.
Make sure you're eating foods high in calcium and vitamin D, two building blocks of bone health. Dairy, fish, fruit, and vegetables are great sources of both. Low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese, fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, and many fruits and vegetables are high in calcium and vitamin D.
For women, the figure was 26.4 years for those beginning treatment at 50 and 13.5 years for those beginning treatment at 75.
While some bone is lost each year, the rate of bone loss increases dramatically in the 5 to 10 years after menopause. Then, for several years, the breakdown of bone occurs at a much greater pace than the building of new bone. This is the process that eventually causes osteoporosis.
Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, jogging, and climbing stairs, can help you build strong bones and slow bone loss. Avoid substance abuse.
Exercise
Just 30 minutes of exercise each day can help strengthen bones and prevent osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercises, such as yoga, tai chi, and even walking, help the body resist gravity and stimulate bone cells to grow. Strength-training builds muscles which also increases bone strength.
Osteoporosis is not reversible, but medication, a nutrient-dense diet, and weight bearing exercise can help prevent further bone loss and rebuild bones. Osteoporosis weaken bones so that they are more likely to break.
Potassium-rich foods such as bananas, tomatoes and orange juice could help fight osteoporosis in post-menopausal women by helping to reduce the level of calcium losses, report researchers from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
Why It's Important? Drinking sufficient water plays a significant role in the well being of your bones and joints. In fact, lack of proper hydration can lead to several of the orthopedic problems, like osteoporosis and musculoskeletal conditions, which worsens as the person gets older.
The largest study to date published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2008 found that elderly women who ate chocolate more than one time each day had thinner bones (less bone density) than women who ate chocolate less than once per week.