Bone Mineral Density: The health problem more women need to think about…

The term bone mineral density may not be common to most people, but as women it is a very important term to us! Bone mineral density (BMD) describes the amount of mineral (mainly calcium and phosphorus) that is packed into our bones. Our bones are forever remodeling in response to the foods we eat and the way we move our bodies. If we are not eating enough of the right foods or performing bone building exercises, the rate of bone break down exceeds the rate of bone building, therefore causing a decrease in bone mineral density. A decrease in BMD is known as osteopenia, and as that number drops it is classified as osteoporosis.

The reason osteopenia and osteoporosis should grab your attention is because it reduces the strength of your bones, putting you at a risk of fracture.  Osteoporosis gets a bit more focus for the ladies because during menopause, women experience a drop in the hormone estrogen. Estrogen plays a role in helping the body build bone and the large drop in estrogen causes the rate of bone breakdown to overtake the body’s ability to build BMD. 1 in 5 women over the age of 65 are affected by osteoporosis, and these are just the women who have been diagnosed with a bone density scan. A lot of the time women will only get this scan when they have a fall resulting in a fracture, so don’t wait until it is too late; let’s start building your bone density now.

There are three main things you can do to help prevent and/or build your BMD. These include; eating 4 serves of dairy per day (if you are over the age of 51), exposing your skin to a few minutes of daily sunlight to receive vitamin D and to perform resistance and weight bearing exercise.

Weight bearing exercises and progressive resistance exercise are the types of activity that will help boost your bone building cells. Weight bearing exercises (exercise where forces are going through your bones) include dancing, skipping, body attack or combat classes and jogging or brisk walking. Progressive resistance training describes using weights to challenge yourself and is effective if you ensure you build the weights up over time. Yoga and swimming are great exercises for your health and wellbeing, but if your aim is to build bone – make sure you engage in some weight bearing and resistance exercise as well.

Weight bearing and resistance exercises are great for women because it aids in improve bone mineral density, builds your muscles to get stronger and couples with improved balance, your falls risk is reduced, meaning you are at an even lower fracture risk.

Try to get 2-3 sessions of weight bearing/resistance training into your week. The recommended guidelines suggest performing five 30 minute sessions of moderate intensity exercise per week, so try to make at least half of your weekly sessions bone building exercises. If 30 minutes seems like a lot, break the times down into two 15 minute blocks or even three 10 minute blocks.

If you have a physiotherapist or personal trainer, they can definitely guide you on some great bone building exercises. If you don’t have access to a gym or health professional, try some of these activities at home

• Walking around the house/ street/shopping centre at a pace that gets your heart and breathing rate a little higher
• Hold some cans of fruit or baked beans in your hands and lift them, bend your elbows to work your biceps, put the cans above your head to work your shoulders – as you get stronger you can use heavier cans
• Try some squats or lunges while the kettle boils or during ad breaks of your favourite TV show
• Join Rock n Roll or Swing dancing in your local area

It is never too late to get started and help your body to protect itself from injury or fracture. Make sure you build your activity up gradually and if you are unsure about what to do or how far to push yourself to get advice from a health professional.

Have you had troubles with your bone density and osteoporosis? How have you managed it? Share your stories in the comments below… 

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.