Strong Bones - Jump for joy
- kate Brown
- Jan 27
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 25
According to the International Osteoporosis foundation: Worldwide, 1 in 3 women over age 50 will experience osteoporosis fractures, as will 1 in 5 men aged over 50. Yet when I talk to my friends I hear surprisingly little concern. Perhaps it doesn't seem a big concern until you reach your 70s or 80s? Or there's the myth that there isn't much you can do to prevent our bones weakening. Some people might think that they are protected because they run or do a lot of walking, Unfortunately this is not nearly enough. Certainly all the things you can do to reduce your risk or to respond, if you already have osteoporosis are not widely known Hence this blog article
This is an important topic, no matter how active you are. I want to start by talking about a hugely helpful scientific trial that illustrates that it is possible to reverse osteoporosis.
The LIFTMOR trial. med.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28975661/
This study set out to see if it was possible to safely reverse the effects of osteoporosis in post menopausal women who already had this diagnosis. In two 30 minute sessions per week for 8 months they demonstrated that it was possible to reverse osteoporosis. They did this using 4 exercises: 3 resistance/strength training exercises (a deadlift, an overhead press and a back squat) and 1 designed to stimulate bone growth by impact (a jumping chin up with drop landing). All are multi joint exercises thus stimulating bone growth at more than just one site.
How did they ensure the women did not get injured? Basically through warm up and gradual progression. For all these exercises there was a slow deliberate progression starting with body weight or low weights over a period of 2 months perfecting the movement patterns. I recommend starting with increasing strength first and then adding light impact if you haven't jumped or strength trained. Another key ingredient to the success of the trial was the intensity; which was 5 sets of 5 reps at 80-85% of the 1 rep max. (the weight you can manage for only 1 rep). This contrasts significantly with the control group whose exercises were only at 60% 1 rep max. for 10-15reps. So heavier for fewer reps is the way to go. The weight lifted was regularly tested and adjusted as the ladies got stronger. You can estimate your 80-85% max by guessing how many reps in reserve you have. If you think you can complete 2 more reps before failure then that's good enough. Again build up to this level rather than diving straight in. It's obviously better to under perform than get sidelined with injury. The control group did low impact exercise common amongst this age group and whilst they may have improved their risk of falling, they did not improve their bone density. In America there is now the Onero program of qualified practitioners and an on line resource to follow on from the Liftmor findings https://onero.academy/osteoporosis-exercises/
Key take aways:
IMPACT, All those years I spent telling my clients to run lightly & move less like an elephant and more like a mouse to save their joints from impact, turns out wasn't entirely helpful. Some impact is actually necessary for our bones to get the signal to grow stronger. Fortunately a little goes a long way. Running may seem enough impact but it is a very repetitive stress and not multi directional. Bones like changing stimulus in multiple directions. I use a clockface image or grid and hop round to complement my running.
STRENGTH training. Lifting heavy stuff not only keeps your muscles in good working order, but the tugging on your bones that heavy lifting stimulates bone growth. I listened to a podcast recently in which Marines were using strength training to guard against stress fractures. The stronger your muscles are the more they do to absorb load as well as tugging on the bones. I particularly like swinging Kettlebells. Controlling the momentum of the kettlebell really feels like it gives a strong bone tugging action. Using moderate weight for at least the first month is advised.
Whilst impact and strength training are undoubtedly the most important, maintaining BALANCE and CORE strength and good posture are really helpful to reduce the risk of falls and fracture.
Is it just me or does balance and core strength decline at a faster rate than everything else? I have no scientific proof of course but neither are protected by just doing the sports you love thats for sure. It's currently cross country skiing season in the Alps, a sport which obviously requires good balance and a helpful reminder to work harder on these areas that decline without us barely noticing. I wonder how many people abandon certain sports because they suddenly find them too difficult, or because their core strength and balance have declined. Maintaining good core strength and balance reduces your risk of falling and fractures. If you already know you have osteoporosis then avoiding twisting and bending of your spine is recommended. There are lots of free resources available to help you get stronger. I like Dr Lisa Moore Brick House Bones videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYJT-D1sQ-k These are very suitable for those without any strength training experience.
FUEL. The research on fasting, ketogenic diets and bone loss seem to be in their infancy partially because of the difficulty in drawing conclusions across the many eating regimes and different populations. This paper https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10551474
Similarly the observations related to high fat diets and skipping breakfast were interesting and not surprisingly healthy lifestyle choices seem to be the way to go.
I suspect there are massive differences for different populations, overweight sedentary males vs slim active women for instance. That said I personally avoid fasting, other than the 10-12 hour window overnight, based on this rationale articulated by Dr Stacey Sims
The effects of underfuelling can go beyond just our bones. Although studies are dominated by animal studies to date, I did find this study on elite athletic women illustrating some scary bone effects from under fuelling even for short durations. Heikura IA, Uusitalo ALT, Stellingwerff T, Bergland D, Mero AA, Burke LM. Low Energy Availability Is Difficult to Assess but Outcomes Have Large Impact on Bone Injury Rates in Elite Distance Athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2018 Jul 1;28(4):403-411. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2017-0313. Epub 2018 Jun 12. PMID: 29252050
Lodge MT, Ward-Ritacco CL, Melanson KJ. Considerations of Low Carbohydrate Availability (LCA) to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) in Female Endurance Athletes: A Narrative Review. Nutrients. 2023 Oct 20;15(20):4457. doi: 10.3390/nu15204457. PMID: 37892531; PMCID: PMC10609849.
Less up for debate is women's needs for calcium, which increases from 1000mg to 1200mg per day as she moves into the post menopausal era. Here's a link to calcium levels in food, who knew figs are so high, and yet another reason to eat broccoli. If you are vegan you might want to check that your dairy substitutes are fortified with calcium but at least tofu packs a big punch. https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/calcium-content-of-foods
It's worth getting your levels of vitamin D checked too, particularly during the winter months or if you never go out without sunscreen. Again your needs rise as you get older.
Soya Isoflavoines continue to hold promise for reducing the natural breakdown of bone. It’s not likely to increase your bone mineral density but may slow the decline down. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9409780/#:~:text=The%20analysis%20showed%20that%20daily,p%20%3D%200.034%3B%20and%20total%20hip
Although I find it's disheartening that we still seem no closer to understanding what type and in what dose has what effect, despite 20 odd years of studies. For instance; why asian women have more positive results. Is it their small stature and dose related or more to do with their more habitual lifetime consumption and the type of soya consumed.
I also think it's a shame that bone density scans are not done when we are in our mid 50s. For many waiting til 65 is far too late to consider hormone therapy as part of the solution and surely it's easier to get to grips with weight training and jumping in your 50s. A dexa scan then, would arguably motivate people to either maintain healthy behaviours or adopt proven bone strengthening strategies before they were truly vulnerable. I’m sure the cost benefit of potentially reducing fractures would be worth it.
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