This beautiful weather has us all wanting to go out and enjoy the sunshine. Nothing better to do that with than a nice vigorous walk. For those who have osteoporosis, a frequently asked question is: Does walking help my bones? The short answer is yes! However, there is more to it than that! Walking does help your bones because it helps you to maintain your bone density, BUT, it is not the best way to improve your bone health.
You might be thinking, “now I’m confused.”
Let me clear this up for you. Walking is an activity that will help you to MAINTAIN your current bone density. If your goal is to IMPROVE your bone density, then I have some other activities to recommend to you. There are 2 superior options to walking for building bone density. One is a weightlifting program, and the other is called “odd impact forces.”
Weightlifting:
Research shows that weightlifting for strength can help to improve bone density. Performing weightlifting with higher weight and fewer repetitions is better than performing weightlifting with a lower weight and higher repetitions when it comes to bone building. This means that you should choose a weight that brings you to fatigue after 8-10 repetitions instead of a light weight that allows you to perform 20 repetitions. A weightlifting program that includes squats, lunges, heel raises, and rows can be very helpful in building bone density.
Odd impact forces
When you think about odd impact forces, I want you to think about the way that soccer players and tennis players move. They are constantly moving in multiple directions (forwards, backwards, sideways and diagonal). Many older adults have taken up pickleball, which is a great way to add these movements to your life if you have the agility and coordination to do so. There are also methods to replicate these forces in a safe way when a person gets older and no longer has great agility. Performing steps other than your “normal walking” can help to create these odd impact forces. You could try taking larger steps for the length of a hallway, walking sideways or walking backwards.
In conclusion, walking is a great activity. If it is the only activity that you enjoy and the alternative is that you are sedentary and sitting…then by all means…KEEP WALKING, it is so important! For our older adults that have very serious mobility issues, maintaining the ability to walk is so important for maintaining bone density. If you are able to, or desire to do more for your bones, then I recommend utilizing some of the principles of “odd impact forces” as well as weightlifting to help improve your bone density. Our EGYM features an osteoporosis protocol in which we teach you which weightlifting machines are best for osteoporosis as well as which machines you should avoid. We also have an osteoporosis program called Re-Align the Spine. It is one on one education with a physical therapist who is specially trained in osteoporosis and is covered by insurance. In this program, you will learn safe ways to move to avoid compression fractures, exercises to improve your posture and bone density, how to implement and use odd impact forces and weightlifting to improve your bone density.