Osteoporosis without drugs

Let us know how you fare. Would like to know how your dexa looks next time.

Lucky guy. Even replacement testosterone protects your bones. After estrogen, even with replacement HRT, we fracture without drugs.

I’m glad to see that Dr. Belinda Beck includes impact jumping* as a means to build bone. That is what I’ve read in the physical therapy research on building bone. She states that resistance exercises help build muscle.

I didn’t see any information about personalizing the exercises based on current bone health. The one thing that has kept me from jumping from a 14” height, as mentioned in a PT study, is that I had osteoporosis, recently recovered to osteopenia, and I might break a bone or cause spinal compression during jumping. The program appears to be video exercises that progress in difficulty without prior client evaluation.

* “High Impact for Bone
Bones love impact but jumping and hopping are rarely practiced by adults. Learn to jump and land safely again with gradual progressions of difficulty and landing intensity. We teach you proper landing techniques and different types of jump for maximum benefit for bone.” From Dr. Belinda Beck, Onero website

Tricia you are quite right re jumping. It has to be safe. The first lot of exercises with the jump she demonstrates using a stool first to hold while you jump to the side. The exercises are very slow until 12 weeks later you get the next ones. This is exactly as you say because online she cannot assess you individually. She has to cater for everyone. If you are lucky enough to find a class they do a 60 minute assessment. Obviously if we are going to work with weights it has to be a very slow process, if we do it online. However for 3 US dollars(??) it's worth a go to check it out if we can't find an Onero class.

@victor5211 True inexpensive motivation to exercise is great. But caution is needed for postmenopausal women. It not the weight lifting or resistance exercise that I’m most worried about. It’s the exercises that involve impact. A slow progression for jumping, supported by holding on, can still break bones - it not the speed or balance issue, it’s the impact.
People with osteoporosis can break bones from just falling over from a standing height. That said, definitely exercise to improve bone, just be very aware of which exercises and intensity with osteoporosis.

Here is a very good article on exercise research. For women, you’ll need to read/skip through to near the end of the article for the “Postmenopausal Women: Adapted Summary Statement”.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8983944/

Rubyslippers, thanks for article and the caution about looking at the postmenopausal section.
The worry about weight lifting is that the muscle can be well and strong enough to lift the weight but the bone is not strong enough to manage the pressure. And the bone fractures. The same way the muscles are strong enough to raise the body, but the femur or sacrum can just collapse in the standing position.
Figure 5 is crucial for post menopausal women. There is "no systematic review" for most exercise groupings. The ones labeled healthy were done on women aged 20 to 50, or 20 to 45. Lifting weight over head can be particularly hazardous.

I remember someone here saying she got a fracture from shaking a sheet while making her bed or something else that seems so benign.

I've been doing Onero online for more than a year.

You will never lift heavy weights in this program...that's her other (in person) Onero program. It seems to me that it is primarily for flexibility, balance and joint mobility, with some limited impact.

You follow along with a video. There is also an instruction sheet. Exercises in the first 4 levels only take about 15 minutes to complete (you repeat a ~5min video three times). I do them 6 times a week. Starting at level 5, it says to repeat each ~5 min video five times.

I consider it a small, but useful, contribution to all the other things I'm doing to try to reverse osteoporosis.

I wish it was near me 😥

Dr. Beck only advises people to do the in-person Onero program using a qualified program where the physiotherapists have been trained to do the program safely. The website lists the locations world-wide where one can get the full program.

As someone else mentioned, her online program does not involve using any weight at all.

I do a LIFTMOR-inspired routine but I have been lifting heavy weights for many years. I do the impact exercises as well. I have had to stop recently as my knee started bothering me - unrelated to my osteoporosis.

Do not start lifting without a coach! I see a lot of online videos showing how to lift but I would not recommend using them. There is a lot that goes into learning how to lift properly. Our tendons and ligaments also need to accommodate the weight and it takes a long time for them to adjust. You may not fracture but a tendon or ligament tear can be just as debilitating.