What is osteoporosis/osteopenia?
Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weak and brittle. The body is constantly absorbing and replacing bone tissue depending on our requirements in the blood stream of calcium and other components. More bone is laid down under lines of stress. With osteoporosis, new bone creation does not keep up with old bone removal. While not usually painful in its own right – often called the “silent disease” it is a condition that increases susceptibility to fractures.
Osteopenia is when bone is changing to this brittle structure ie prior to osteoporosis, but still abnormal bone. Both are commonly a result of changing hormones as we age, reduced calcium intake and can also be a result of a sedentary lifestyle when our bones have not been challenged enough to lay down more bone throughout our life.
How is it diagnosed?
Osteoporosis/osteopenia is diagnosed using a specific type of scan called a Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (commonly referred to as a DEXA scan). The main areas tested are the hip and lower back, and T-Scores refer to the difference the bone appears compared to normal bone.
I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia, what can I do about it?
Upon diagnosis, your GP will set you up with a medication plan which may include vitamin supplements and in some cases an injection called Prolia. They will recommend a healthy diet or even a consult with a dietician.
From a Physiotherapy standpoint – more in our realm to be able to discuss is weightbearing exercise – even more helpful research has found that if Physio also includes lifting and impact work to force the bones to have to adapt to stressors, then bone mineral density can increase.
While cycling, walking and swimming are good for our cardiovascular health, they often are not enough to load our bones to the level in which to improve our bone mineral density.
This is where the LIFTMOR studies have come up with the right exercise dosage to improve your bone mineral density result, and also prevent the risk of falling to sustain a fracture in the first place!
What are the LIFTMOR Studies?
⦁ LIFTMOR stands for Lifting Intervention for Training Muscle and Osteoporosis Rehabilitation.
⦁ These were studies completed at Griffith University on the Gold Coast
⦁ Over 150 men and women participated in two separate studies (aged over 65 years old with low bone mineral density – either osteoporotic or osteopenic).
⦁ Strength sessions supervised by Exercise Physiologists/Physiotherapists (max class sizes of 8 people)
⦁ It took 8 months, but there was a detectable change to their bone health (positive improvements) on their scans.
⦁ Twice weekly, 30 min sessions performing dead lifts, back squats, overhead press and drops from a chin up bar.
⦁ The load was 80% of the maximum they could lift once (5 sets of 5 reps)
⦁ This was superior to a home program, use of a lab strength machine called a Biodex and regular sedentary lifestyles as controls.
⦁ The program was also beneficial in preventing falls – improving balance and strength (even resulting in straightening their posture known as the kyphosis angle).
⦁ Of the 150 people who took part, there was only 1 minor back strain that left that person out for one week ie no fractures or major injuries!
⦁ In practice, we are likely to use less weight initially to gradually build you up – you might also be coming back from an injury/pain area first, and if you have other health conditions or can only attend one day per week in clinic the results may be slower than the 8 month mark, but they will occur and we can track your progress via a range of functional tests!
Come in for training on how to lift safely, supervised sessions and an ongoing program to continue working with us in our own gym or continue to your own or one of our partner gyms!
Compared to the studies having a max class size of 8, ours are capped at 4 in Semi-Privates, with the possibility of progressing into 6 max in Muscles in Motion or a Bone Health Class (only once you know how to perform everything safely and confidently).
Author: Lou Marmion, Physiotherapist (B. ExSc, M. Phty)