What Is Osteoporosis And How Can You Prevent This?

Personal/Fitness Training Blog

Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease that affects the health of your bones. Often mistakenly thought of as an illness that only affects older individuals, for example post-menopausal women, it has been known to strike people as young as 25 .

What makes it that much more frightening is that most don’t know that they’re suffering from osteoporosis until it’s too late. At this point there’s nothing that they can do. Luckily, there are measures you can take NOW to prevent yourself from developing osteoporosis.

Your Bones Are Living And Dynamic

Through remodelling, according to Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General, your bone matter is constantly replaced in a systematic method. Osteoporosis happens when old bone matter is removed but no new bone matter is available to replace it. This causes your bones to become brittle – and putting you at an increased risk of fractures. The parts of your body that are most at risk are your spine, wrists, hips, pelvis and upper arms.

Who Is At Risk Of Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis affects both males and females of all races. However, experts say that Asian and Caucasian women – especially those who have already gone through menopause – are most at risk. This being said, new information has come to light – says the South African National Osteoporosis Foundation – that men are actually more prone to developing the disease than women are. Symptoms include broken bones as well as decreased height because of a curvature of the spine.

How Can You Prevent Developing Osteoporosis?

Eat Enough Calcium In Your Diet

Eating calcium-rich foods is one of the best ways of ensuring that you consume a sufficient amount of calcium on a daily basis. (To see how much calcium you need to be taking in, as well as what types of foods are rich in this mineral, follow this link.) It’s better to ensure that you satisfy your body’s calcium needs from your diet and don’t rely on calcium supplements. However, if you can’t manage this, taking a supplement will do the trick.

Ensure That You Perform Weight-Bearing Exercises

During weight-bearing exercises, your body works against the force of gravity to work out. (Click here to read our article about what type of weight-bearing exercises are good for this disease.) Examples of exercises such as these are walking or jogging on the treadmill.

It’s important to perform these exercises on a regular basis – the literature says for about 45 minutes, three times a week – as these will assist to guard against the symptoms of osteoporosis. For example, by building and strengthening your muscles, if you happen to have a fall – and are predisposed to osteoporosis or your bones happen to be brittle – you are less likely to experience fractures as are your bones will be well protected by toned muscles.

Want to learn more about osteoporosis and exercises you can show people to prevent the onslaught of this disease?  If so, you’ll be interested in learning about Trifocus Fitness Academy’s course on exercise and the elderly.