Spinal osteoporosis after 10 months on ADT

@grandpun Thank you for your story--I'm sorry it has been so difficult, and 1.5 years after Lupron at that. The DXA should definitely include the spine.

I saw my oncologist this morning, and he has put me on Zometa starting in 3 weeks. My bone density apparently is already below average for my age (68) , so that may account in part for.the osteoporosis. Thank you everyone for your help, and good health and luck to all.

@surftohealth88
Did they say anything about the fact that just walking at a fast rate for a distance would be equivalent to bouncing?

@drew2021 I was in your shoes albeit just osteopenic. BMD loss was probably ongoing for me prior to PCA treatment. I took Prolia for 2 years while on ADT, and it worked without any bad SE's.

@jeffmarc my understanding is that the bouncing, skipping, small jumps should be done in non cushioned shoes on a hard surface. The cushion cushions the jolt the bones need. I've found Dr Robert Newton's book, "My Exercise Medicine for Cancer" to be invaluable. He also discusses this at the 2025 PCRI conference. His hour long talk is available on YouTube.

@jeffmarc

Any movement that we do standing up is helping since our own weight is putting pressure on our skeleton but if one wants to build bones they need some extra stimulation.

Special bouncing moves are called " Plyometric exercises" and they specifically require bouncing.

Now - one has to start slow ! And one has to know one's own limits. For seniors it is very important to take care of joints and spine and not make any sudden moves without warming up. It is also important to know that moves can be done holding onto railing or chair or any other stable surface if one has trouble with balance. Twisting fast moves should be avoided if one has problems with spine and big jumps avoided if one has painful joints of any kind.

There are numerous videos with plyometric exercise but everybody - please stick with ones for seniors if you have any skeletal issues. There is no need to do advanced moves like jumping onto the step , or twist and jump etc etc - absolutely no need to do those !!!

Bouncing can be done even without jumping off the ground. It is NOT true that one needs hard surface either (as somebody mentioned). Yes- the harder the impact the faster bones "get the idea" to grow, but for seniors slow and steady has the same benefit and prevents injury.

Here is one example of plyometric exercise :
https://www.google.com/search
Please all notice that first 2 exercises do not even require jumping ! Others are gentle bouncing and the last is squat jump BUT the descent is to squat again so there is no hard impact on the knees.

If somebody has trouble with joints it is OK to do this on soft mat. As I said, growth will be slower but it will happen .

If one is regularly involved in sports and has not trouble with joints and has no osteoporosis or osteopenia - than of course do bigger jumps, jumping jack, jump the rope, etc etc.

@surftohealth88
What concerns me about doing this is that my back has problems that keep coming back. I have lower back pain that I can’t be sure wouldn’t be aggravated by doing this. I also have a hip that was replaced that is not real happy all the time. Sometimes when I walk, it really grabs me and I have to stop for a moment.

And then I’ve got a laminectomy in my neck and a plate back there and I’ve gotta be careful. I don’t bounce that around too hard..

I think I’ll just stick to walking.

@jeffmarc

Absolutely - I would stick to walking too if I had spine or hip problem. 👍
Bouncing can especially aggravate neck because neck has that special curvature which actually serves as an "amortization mechanism".
Does walking up hill and down hill cause any pain for you ? I am asking because when we go downhill there are a lot of "impact" movements.
Also, going down the stairs would make small "impact" bounces which would be enough for bone health.
I read somewhere that there are even some pool exercises - I will try to find those and I will post if I find a video.

PS: Just finished Googling - there are a ton of them but mostly designed for athletes (performance enhancement). BUT, watch them and see if there are any moves that you can modify to your level of comfort and perhaps do in a pool. I think that you once mentioned that your son is PT ? Perhaps he can help you find what can work for you <3. The good thing is that you are on bone building meds , so you are probably safe even without these exercises.

Due to a narrow frame and drug therapy for another condition, I was osteopoenic for many years prior to my cancer diagnosis. ADT (Lupron, abiraterone, prednisone) pushed me over the edge into osteoporosis. Over the course of three years, I was given three Reclast infusions. I did a lot of walking and weights at first, but that became less as I developed very painful neuropathy in both legs and feet (several different specialists unable to identify exact cause) and ADT fatigue set in in earnest in the second year of ADT. Since completion of ADT, I’ve become more active again. The Reclast has been effective, and the osteoporosis has been reversed. I am still ostepoenic, but my rheumatologist says that the Reclast should continue to have a positive effect, even though it’s left my system. Even the neuropathy has lessened, although I’m still on Gabapentin to control the pain.

Just had my first DEXA scan, and I'm OK for now. Recommended I start taking a Calcium supplement along with Vitamin D in the morning and Magnesium supplement at night.

ADT messes with everything, but there are things you can take to offset the damage it does.

Hang in there - you got this. 🙂