Benefits of exercise in osteoporosis
Benefits of exercise in osteoporosis. From Río-Hortega Polyclinic, we want to address one of the many Benefits of physical activity, specifically resistance exercises, both for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis.
Resistance exercises are those in which we perform movements by adding an external load, such as discs, bars, dumbbells (bench press, biceps curl or military press, among others), or those in which the load is our own body mass. This group would include calisthenics or plyometric exercises (pull-ups, squats, push-ups or jumps, among others); This type of exercise consists of overcoming this load.
The benefit we want to address is related to bones, which have very important functions, such as: providing support for muscles and soft tissues, protecting internal organs from possible trauma, or providing us with movement in conjunction with muscles and tendons, among others. other functions. One of the diseases that affect the bones is osteoporosis, a disease that thins and weakens the bones, making them more fragile and susceptible to breakage, especially in the hip, spine and wrist. The population most at risk of suffering from it are adult women, especially after menopause. However, it can affect anyone. A fact to keep in mind: In 2010 in Spain, this disease affected 3,5 million people.
Next we are going to name the main ones risk factors for osteoporosis:
- Aging.
- Being small and thin.
- Family background.
- Intake of certain drugs.
- White or Asian race.
- Have low bone density
Bones are living tissue and as such are subject to change. From biomechanics, the changes that bones undergo after being subjected to different forces, compression or shear traction, among others, have been studied. And it has been concluded that resistance exercise increases mineral density, making bones strongers (at any age). Because of this, resistance training is one of the most useful tools for treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. Obviously always supervised by a physical activity and sports science professional, who will help you control the loads, the volume of training and the density of it, since it can be so beneficial to perform physical activity in a controlled way, as dangerous without no supervision entailing risks to our health.
