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Treating Osteoporosis: What works for you?

Osteoporosis & Bone Health | Last Active: Sep 2 10:11am | Replies (1085)

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@alysebrunella

Hi @susandockter and @emcote63, and welcome to Connect. Thanks for joining this ongoing conversation. It jumps around quite a bit, so I'm posting my response at the end of the thread to bring everyone into the discussion. I’m also tagging @mohavegal, @angelas and @jmbjar who are all active members in this thread.

@susandockter, how do you work to strengthen your bones and muscles beyond your medications? You emphasize the importance of being treated, but I’m sure the group would love to hear if you have any exercises that help.

@emcote63, have you and your doctor had conversations about certain medications? I ask because there may be others on this thread who are already taking them or have in the past. They may be able to provide input on their experiences.

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Replies to "Hi @susandockter and @emcote63, and welcome to Connect. Thanks for joining this ongoing conversation. It jumps..."

I have been working very closely with a physical therapist for over a year. what I have learned is what exercise you do depends on your level of fitness. if you are relatively fit to begin with starting slowly and going forward with pretty much anything will help strengthen your bones especially if you use weights. but if you are not fit to begin with, you need to start very slowly and move carefully in order to not create problems with different muscle systems as you get your body in shape.

if at all possible I highly recommend working with a physical therapist because they can target specific issues related to osteoporosis and make sure that your body is trained well so that when you have an injury you can keep moving very easily. for example my physical therapist spent a lot of time making my back strong and helping me learn to stand up without using my arms. my legs and back are a lot stronger than they would have been had I not been doing those two specific exercises, just walking would not have accomplish what I needed. during my ankle injury It has been much easier to stand up on one leg then it would have been had I not done those exercises. This made it easier for me to move, which kept me moving, which then allowed me not to fall anywhere near as far backwards as i did with my rib injury. this is extremely importot. Statistically one week of immobility requires two weeks of hard work to get back to Where you were.

again I emphasize that it's extremely important to have a good sense of where you are physically and to know what you need. I was part of a wonderful very well-meaning online group that suggested in order to strengthen my back I do knee squats against the wall. my physical therapist told me that had I done this I would have made my back problems worse. you need to know if you were working with somebody who is trying to make you into an exercise guru, trying to help you get more fit, or trying to help you rehab muscles.