How to Fight Off Osteoporosis

What Is Osteoporosis?

If you don't know already, Osteoporosis means porous bones, which you could imagine does not sound very good to have. The reason the porous bones occur is because our bodies can’t regenerate bone at the rate it’s losing it. This causes a person's bones to become weak and brittle, often leading to fractures.

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Symptoms

Unfortunately, because the symptoms are gradual, most people with Osteoporosis won’t even know they have it until they are experiencing bone fractures. Luckily, there are symptoms that you can look out for before a fracture happens. First thing to look out for is if a person sits in a kyphotic position (forward head posture and a rounded upper spine). Second symptom being extreme low back pain. Third, being a loss of height over time (Loss of height caused by tiny fractures that are usually unnoticeable).

Are you at risk?

Typically, women who are 65 and older and men who are 70 and older are at the highest risk to develop Osteoporosis. People 50 and older with prior fractures should also consider getting screened. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, they estimate that half of all women over the age of 50 will develop Osteoporosis at some point. They also estimate that 80% of Americans with Osteoporosis are women. Women are at greater risk of developing Osteoporosis because, on average, women are smaller and have a lower peak bone mass than men. Another factor is menopause - estrogen will help the body maintain its bone density but estrogen levels decline after menopause.

How to combat?

Fortunately there are several ways to combat the onset of Osteoporosis!  The biggest rehab for Osteoporosis is living a healthy lifestyle, a well balanced diet with lots of calcium/vitamin D and physical exercise (e.g. weightlifting). There are also vitamins and dietary supplements that you can look into to help fight off Osteoporosis.

How can we help?

If you feel that you are at risk, then I would highly recommend that you talk to your physician about a screening. If you are determined to be an at risk person, don’t panic! Everything is going to be okay and we're here to help! Beach Fitness can help you along your journey by providing you with a trainer that is well versed in proper lifting techniques, we also have a super knowledgeable dietician on staff that can help you determine a nutrition plan and aid in determining what supplements would be beneficial for you. Every person is always going to be a little different. So call us today to find out the right plan for YOU!

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