Benefits And Tips of  Exercises Activities:

Most types of activity programs are preferable to a sedentary lifestyle for patients with osteoporosis and with a 20-minute warm-up, comprising 10 minutes of gentle stretching and range of motion activity followed by 10 minutes of aerobic exercises. For cardiovascular exercises, targeted heart rate should be 60% of maximum heart rate (220 – age) for a beginner or a deconditioned woman and 70-75% for those in more intermediate health. Weight training with light free weights and rubber tubing can then be incorporated.

Benefits for Osteoporosis Exercise

As per standard resistance training, the exercises should target the major muscle groups.

• Effective upper arm exercises include pushing against a wall or pulling and twisting against a partner.
• Quadriceps strength can be improved with a wall slide (squat) exercise or by practicing standing from a seated position.
• Trunk stabilization (i.e. core stability) exercises are often introduced in the crooklying position and progressed to sitting and standing.
• Trunk stabilization exercises target the recruitment of transversus abdominis and the internal and external obliques rather than rectus abdominis.
• Due to the propensity to develop a kyphotic posture with osteoporosis, back posture correction exercises should also be emphasized and can be done standing, in a chair or prone.
• Balance exercises can be introduced initially by having individuals hold a tandem stance for 10 seconds with their eyes open while holding onto the kitchen counter for support.
• Other balance exercises include single leg stance with eyes open (then eyes closed), tandem forward walking, walking backwards, and tandem backwards walking.
• The exercise program should conclude with a 15-minute cool down period and warm-down stretches can be done sitting on the floor.
• Remember also that the assessment for exercise prescription should allow the practitioner to discover what activities the client values.
• Many popular activities require some degree of strength, flexibility, endurance, balance and coordination. For example, a good line dancing class emphasizes posture and the attributes listed, is fun, and does not require a partner.

Community Based Exercise Program For Osteoporosis

‘Osteofit’ is an exercise-based program devised by staff of the British Columbia Women Health Center Osteoporosis Program in Vancouver, Canada. This community-based program for women and men aims to reduce participant’s risk of falling and improve their functional ability and thereby enhance their quality of life. It differs from typical seniors exercise classes by specifically targeting posture, balance, gait, coordination, and trunk and pelvic stabilization rather than general aerobic fitness.

‘Osteofit Tips’ For Exercise

A typical class consists of a warm-up, the workout and a relaxation component, which are outlined below. ‘Osteofit’ classes also include ‘Osteofit Tips’ a 5-minute health education topic that the instructor shares with participants.

• The work-out itself consists of strengthening and stretching exercises intended to improve posture by combating medially rotated shoulders, chin protrusion (excessive cervical extension), thoracic kyphosis and loss of lumbar lordosis.
• Exercises to improve balance and coordination may progress from heel raises and toe pulls to the mildly challenging two-legged heel-toe rock and the more challenging tandem walks and obstacle courses.
• Pelvic stabilization is trained using leg exercises (e.g. hip abduction and extension) or balance exercises.
• After appropriate training and progression through less challenging positions, trunk stabilization is addressed when the participant is cued and positioned to do all standing exercises with resistance for the arms (e.g. biceps curls) and shoulders (e.g. lateral arm raises).
• The abdominal muscles are strengthened in their function as stabilizers rather than as prime movers.
• Exercises to improve functional ability include chair squats and getting up and down off the floor.
• Upper and lower body activities are alternated to reduce the risk of tendinopathy.
• If the class includes more than one set of an exercise, the sets are separated by a short rest period.
• Repetitions are kept to between eight and 16 and weights are relatively light so that participants do not work to fatigue with each set.
• The exercises are arranged so that the less strenuous exercises, such as hamstring stretching, are at the end of the work-out.
• The last few minutes of the class are devoted to relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle tensing and relaxing, and visualizations to a background of soft music and/or nature sounds.
• ‘Osteofit‘ is one form of safe and effective exercise for a population that is at high risk of osteoporotic fracture.