MARCH/APRIL
2007
OsteoPilates: The new way to care for your bones and get toned!
By Karena Thek Lineback
Chances are you’ve probably heard of osteoporosis—a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. Osteoporosis is at the forefront of women’s health issues and is caused by a variety of factors including lack of calcium and regular exercise. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can be a painful and debilitating disease.
But many of the health professionals with whom I have spoken call osteoporosis “the most easily preventable disease.” It’s just not being prevented, and many women who think they are helping themselves with weight-bearing exercises to build bone density are actually doing themselves more harm.
That’s where a combination of a good diet, high in calcium and safe movement exercises like OsteoPilates comes in.
But first, a few important statistics:
- 1.4 million Canadians suffer from osteoporosis.
- One in four Canadian women over the age of 50 has osteoporosis. One in eight men over 50 also has the disease. However, the disease can strike at any age.
- In the United States, more than one million osteoporosis fractures happen each year, including:
- 300,000 hip fractures
- 700,000 spinal fractures
- 250,000 wrist fractures
- 300,000 fractures in additional locations
- A woman’s likelihood of suffering a hip fracture is more than that of breast and ovarian cancer combined.
The ironic and most frightening reality is that many of these fractures occur during an exercise situation, leaving most people thinking they have only over-exerted or strained their back. In actuality, they are creating a serious injury. In some cases, tiny fractures can accumulate before a woman sees a doctor about that increasing pain in her back. More tiny fractures mean more deformity of the spine.
But the prognosis is not all bleak. You can take charge of your bone health and the sooner the better!
The first step is a bone density test to asses your bone health. I recommend a baseline bone density test for women in their late 20s and young 30s. The test can often predict future bone loss and allows women (and men) to take preventative steps to increase bone density earlier on.
Armed with that knowledge, you should create a multifaceted plan for yourself that includes the following four elements:
- diet
- medication
- exercise
- postural movement awareness for avoiding fracture
Studies have shown that combining exercise and calcium increases bone density more than either factor alone.
Let’s talk about calcium. We know it’s essential for maintaining strong bones and teeth. According to Osteoporosis Canada, adults between the ages of 19 and 50 need 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day. Over the age of 50, that number increases to 1,500 milligrams. Studies have shown that when taken in adequate amounts, calcium can actually increase bone density and reduce osteoporotic-related fractures. Sounds easy enough—let’s all eat and drink more foods and beverages rich in calcium. Some of these include: milk, cheese, almonds, broccoli, soybeans, salmon (with bones) and shrimp.
Unfortunately, in today’s hectic world, national food consumption data shows the majority of Canadians are not consuming the daily recommended amounts of calcium. So if we aren’t getting calcium from our typical diets, supplemental sources are a great way to give our bodies the calcium boost we need.
For the extra burst of calcium your body needs, try a calcium-fortified beverage. Look for beverages that are fortified with calcium and other vitamins, taste great and are low in calories. They will supplement your diet and help you rehydrate during and after exercise, and often contain 10 percent of the daily recommended intake of calcium.
Once you’ve got control of your diet, exercise is crucial to building and maintaining bone density and treating osteoporosis. Resistance training in particular puts strain on your muscles, which in turn puts stress on your bones and stimulates them to grow and become thicker and denser. Resistance training has been shown to not only increase bone density, but also to halt naturally occurring bone loss due to reabsorption.
OsteoPilates, like regular pilates, uses your body’s own weight for resistance but adds in exercises for those exercisers looking to add bone density. OsteoPilates benefits the body in seven ways:
- increased bone density
- powerful “core” strength
- improved balance
- enhanced overall strength
- better flexibility
- improved posture
- perfect alignment
Getting started is simple. All you need is yourself (dressed comfortably), a mat (or not) and the floor. The secret is to go slowly and not overdo it—and perform your exercise program three times per week to experience change and limit burnout.
Remember, you are your own experiment. What will this program do for you? Increase your bone density? Help you feel and look better? Give you more energy? There is much you can do to prevent osteoporosis and decrease the negative effects low bone density can have on your life and well-being. Start today with the commitment to a diet high in calcium-rich or fortified foods and beverages and resistance training exercises.
Karena Thek Lineback comes to pilates from a professional dance career. She continues as a certified pilates fitness and post-rehabilitation specialist and is the author of OsteoPilates.
This regular column was brought to you by Propel Vitamin Supplement. Propel Vitamin Supplement is vitamin-charged and flavoured to hydrate, and now available with calcium. Propel Calcium is available in great-tasting strawberry and orange flavours. Visit www.PropelEnhancedWater.ca for more information.
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