Understanding how much is safe to lift with osteoporosis

Hi,
I have had severe osteoarthritis in my spine for over a decade, and now I also have arthritis in both knees, hands and feet. I also have had stenosis in my spine for over two decades. I joined the Arthritis Foundation and get information online and also a magazine. The foundation had a great video with exercises. I am sure they are online too. I also saw a hand physical therapist at HSS in New York since my hands become sometimes quite stiff and achy. She taught me exercises and showed me various gadgets that are available to deal with the stiffness.

Nevertheless, I am able to do two 60-minute mat Pilates classes per week at the JCC (they are also online at the same time), which have helped to make me much stronger and my left hip bone density increased by 3.4% in nine months. In addition, I do a one hour strength training session at HSS each week. I can definitely feel the stiffness in my spine, and the trainer is very aware of my issues. I do squats every day, but my orthopedist showed me how low I can go without stressing my knees too much. I had gone down too far and that caused pain. In general, the more I move, the better I feel. Walking really helps, and I can do up to eight miles a day with orthotics in my shoes. Don't give up! I am definitely very creaky but exercise makes a big difference physically and psychologically. I wish you the best.

@gerry26
I sent a response but didn't direct it to you specifically by mistake!

@gerry26

Tai Chi -- believe it or not -- see what Harvard Health and other notables have to say about it.
And a book you can pick up used, called "Exercises for Osteoporosis," by Dianne Daniels.

You don't have to hammer away at your joints to do your body good.

I feel like you’ve gotten some mixed messages about meds and thought I might try to explain some things I’ve learned about osteoporosis/osteopenia and meds.

You have specialized cells in your body called, “osteoblasts” (bone builders) and “osteoclasts” (bone removers). They manufacture new/fresh bone and tear down/remove old bone respectively.

My understanding of meds is there are two classes of meds to treat osteoporosis: bisphosphonates (Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, Reclast and Aredia) and anabolics (Tymlos, Forteo and Evenity).

Bisphosphonates (oral medications), slow/reduce your osteoclasts (bone removers) from doing their job. If you are borderline osteopenia/osteoporosis or low on the osteoporosis spectrum, these are likely your best course of treatment to slow your bone loss.

Anabolics (injectable drugs) stimulate both osteoblasts and osteoclasts to do their jobs better. So if your osteoporosis is more severe, you likely need to be trying to build new bone, rather than slowing the destruction of old bone.

Mind you, before taking any of these drugs, your doctor (rheumatologist, endocrinologist, PCP, whatever) should do additional tests to ensure that you don’t have any other underlying conditions that are causing/contributing to your osteopenia/osteoporosis.

I read, “Mayo Clinic on Osteoporosis” which is a pretty comprehensive guide. Good luck!

@bharris202 they r testing my thyroid now. Don’t understand how that has anything to do with osteoporosis.

@awest6444 I’m so sorry! Yes, that makes sense. If the parathyroid gland is over acting (hyper parathyroidism), that can cause your osteoclasts (cells that tear down old bone) to tear down too much bone. You don’t need that! You need your osteoblasts (bone builders) and osteoclasts (bone “deconstructers”) to behave! Fingers crossed that everything is good.