It's almost that time year again... It's time for some of you to get your bone mineral density scan. This scan can tell you whether any action is required for you to improve your bone health. The result of this test will tell you what range your bones are in these are usually either:
* Normal
* Osteopenia (low bone mineral density)
* Osteoporosis (very low bone mineral density)
The sooner you find out if you have low bone mineral density or osteoporosis the better, early detection is key! Finding out this information means you can take action to keep your bones strong, slow bone loss and reduce the risk of breaks which can be debilitating. Exercise is a very important part of this plan!
Regular exercise plays an important role in maintaining or improving bone density. The way this works is that our bones become stronger when enough impact or extra strain is placed on them. If you're goal is to improve bone mineral density you need to be doing the right kind of exercise!
These include:
Weight bearing exercise: This is exercise done while on your feet so you bear your own weight. For example: brisk walking, jogging, skipping, tennis, dancing, stair walking.
Progressive resistance training: This put simply means that the exercise must become more challenging over time. For example lifting weights or using gym equipment
The ability of an exercise to build bone can be classified by its osteogenic capacity, big words aside this basically means "bone building capacity".
Therefore the higher the osteogenic capacity the more the bones will be stimulated by that exercise. Certain exercises like swimming and cycling may be good for general health but will have little to no benefit on bone health.
So if you are looking to improve your bone mineral density come in and see me at Bodyfix for a targeted program to improve your bone mineral density, as well as improve your balance and reduce your risk of falling, and most importantly keep you doing the things you love to do as for as long as possible.
