Exercise That Helps Osteoporosis

If you suffer from osteoporosis choosing the right form of exercise is an important decision. Before choosing your exercise routine it is important to discuss with your doctor what your body can handle.

There are three types of activities that are often recommended for people with osteoporosis:

1. Strength training exercises, especially those for the back
2. Weight-bearing aerobic activities
3. Flexibility exercises

Because of the varying degrees of osteoporosis and the risk of fracture, certain exercises may be discouraged. Ask your doctor or physical therapist whether you're at risk of osteoporosis-related problems, and find out what exercises are appropriate for you.

Strength training Exercise

Strength training includes the use of free weights, weight machines, resistance bands or water exercises to strengthen the muscles and bones in your arms and upper spine. Strength training can also work directly on your bones to slow mineral loss.

Osteoporosis can cause compression fractures in your spinal column.

These fractures often lead to a stooped posture, increasing the pressure along the front of your spinal column, and result in even more compression fractures. Exercises that gently stretch your upper back, strengthen the muscles between your shoulder blades and improve your posture can all help to reduce harmful stress on your bones and maintain bone density.

Weight-bearing Aerobic Activities

Weight-bearing aerobic activities involve doing aerobic exercise on your feet, with your bones supporting your weight. Examples include walking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, elliptical training machines, stair climbing and gardening.

These types of exercise work directly on the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine to slow mineral loss. They can also provide cardiovascular benefits, which boost heart and circulatory system health.

Swimming and water aerobics have many benefits, but they don't have the impact your bones need to slow mineral loss. However, these activities can be useful in cases of extreme osteoporosis, during rehabilitation following a fracture or for only increasing aerobic capacity.

Flexibility exercises

Being able to move your joints through their full range of motion helps you maintain good balance and prevent muscle injury.

Increased flexibility can also help improve your posture. When your joints are stiff, your abdominal and chest muscles become tight, pulling you forward and giving you a stooped posture.

Stretches are best performed after your muscles are warmed up — at the end of your exercise session, for example. They should be done gently and slowly, without bouncing. Avoid stretches that flex your spine or cause you to bend at the waist. These positions may put excessive stress on the bones in your spine (vertebrae), placing you at greater risk of a compression fracture.

Ask your doctor which stretching exercises would be best for you.

Movements to Avoid

If you have osteoporosis it is recommended not to do the following types of exercises:

• High-impact exercises, such as jumping, running or jogging. These activities increase compression in your spine and lower extremities and can lead to fractures in weakened bones. Avoid jerky, rapid movements in general. Choose exercises with slow, controlled movements.
• Exercises in which you bend forward and twist your waist, such as touching your toes, doing sit-ups or using a rowing machine. These movements also put pressure on the bones in your spine, increasing your risk of compression fractures.
  
  Other activities that may require you to bend or twist forcefully at the waist are golf, tennis, bowling and some yoga poses.

If you're not sure how healthy your bones are, talk to your doctor. Don't let fear of fractures keep you from having fun and being active.

Natural Supplement for Osteoporosis – Exoprin

In conjunction with regular exercise and adequate diet, Exoprin helps to reduce specific risk factors associated with Osteoporosis by effectively replenishing lacking nutrients which are vital for proper bone health.

Although the best sources of calcium are found in calcium-containing foods, the majority of individuals do not obtain a sufficient amount from diet. Exoprin can bridge this gap; ensuring that the body's calcium needs are met, while affording the benefit of other key nutrients equally important for bone health.

Exoprin deposits the lacking bone-building nutrients back into Your body; helping you to reduce the risk of osteoporosis onset, while managing the many adverse symptoms associated with the disease.

A few ingredients in Exoprin are:

• Vitamin D - This essential nutrient is required for absorption of calcium and musculoskeletal stability. Researchers recommend that supplementation start early to prevent postmenopausal bone loss.
  
  A review of randomized controlled trials showed that supplementation with vitamin D can reduce the incidence of hip fracture, a devastating complication of osteoporosis.
• Calcium - Necessary for bone mineral density (BMD), calcium is one of the most important nutrients in preventing osteoporosis.
  
  A Cochrane Review and a meta-analysis of randomized trials in postmenopausal women both indicated that even on its own, calcium can reduce the rate of bone loss and may prevent vertebral fractures.
  
  However, the combination of vitamin D and calcium is a more effective approach to maintaining BMD, even in subjects with good dietary intakes, as vitamin D helps with intestinal absorption of calcium.
• Vitamin K - Vitamin K facilitates the formation of a bone-building protein and dramatically reduces fracture risk. In postmenopausal women, lower vitamin K status is correlated with reduced BMD.
• Soy Extract Isoflavones (including genistein, daidzen, and glycitein )- Soy extracts have been shown to improve estrogen related bone loss.
  
  A double-blind controlled study of 203 postmenopausal women (who were also taking vitamin D and calcium) showed that soy isoflavones had a significant, independent effect on the maintenance of hip bone mineral content in postmenopausal women with low initial bone mass.
• Ipriflavone (a semisynthetic isoflavone manufactured in the laboratory from daidzein, a compound derived from soy)- Some studies have shown that like vitamin D ipriflavone can enhance calcium absorption. It appears that ipriflavone also directly affecta bone cells, resulting in increased bone construction.

For a complete list of ingredients Click Here.