Osteoperosis and The Benefits of Exercise when over 40

It's that nagging 12 letter word we don't typically think about until it's too late. The literal translation is 'porous bones' where they become weak and brittle. So before it's too late we need to ask why this happens and how to we stop it?

It would appear that a lot of the symptoms seem to naturally occur in us women during our 40's. Aging is one we can't really help, and reaching menopause (yes 'that again) with a decrease in our naturally occurring hormones is another element that needs to happen. Family history will determine if you are at greater risk. We need to rethink smoking because in this age bracket the side effects can be far more wide spread than before. Some medications can also contribute to the brittle bones and onset of osteoporosis as well.

Will we have symptoms? No, not until one of our bones goes snap! Whether it's simply from reaching to pick something up and your wrist is affected, hips and back pain are two areas where the stress from weakened bones will become prevalent in time. Your posture will suffer and walking will be a challenge. Stopping the onset again is a simple choice we need to make now before it's too late.

Healthy bones are a result of adequate calcium, Vitamin D ( which enables the calcium to be absorbed) and the simple element that seems to be shining through as a 'cure all' for so many age related issues - exercise! Regular exercise can stop the bones from diminishing in size and will stimulate cells that generate new bone tissue. This means that with regular weight bearing exercise studies report you can rebuild some of the bone loss and undo some of the damage from the weakened bones.

In a world full of pills that are to 'cure all' and 'fix all' and supplements to give us all we need, it would appear that it's not as complicated and difficult as we make it out to be. Get up and get moving!

bodybuilding and healthy bones