Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a significant public health problem. Individuals with low BMD experience more fractures than those with optimal BMD, and treatment is associated with fewer fractures.
Medications for Low Bone Density
Bisphosphonates: These medications are often the first drug of choice for treatment of low bone density. They have been shown to reduce the risk of both spine and non-spine fractures. Some common brand names for this drug are Boniva, Fosamax, and Actonel. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on bisphosphonate drugs in 2010. The warning is for patients taking bisphosphonates for longer than 3 to 5 years. It is important to visit your doctor if you feel like the medication isn’t working for you. He or she may want to conduct additional tests.
People with osteoporosis are particularly at risk for fractures of the hip, spine, or wrist. Women (and men) with thinning bones should ask, “What are the best exercises for osteoporosis?” And, “What medications will help me to increase my bone density?” There are a variety of medications on the market that doctors may recommend to patients who are diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis.
If you’re one of those women with low bone density, you’ll want to know how to increase bone density with drugs – and safely. You might think that bone is a static substance, but bone is constantly being broken down and replaced. Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone doesn’t keep up with the removal of old bone. Osteoporosis affects menopausal women and men along with some chronic health conditions. The low bone density definition by the World Health Organization (WHO) was created to help bone density test results be better explained. When T-scores are not used, doctors and other health professionals take into consideration age, gender, exposure to multiple health risks, and bone measurements. The best treatment for low bone density often includes calcium and vitamin D supplements, along with weight-bearing exercises.
Lifestyle Changes to Improve Bone Density
What specific things you should do depends on your medical condition and personal goals. There’s a chance that vigorous or high impact exercises could cause injury. Weight-bearing activity may be difficult if you have arthritic knees, hip problems, or any other kind of health or orthopedic issues. Consequently, you should have a consultation with an expert in exercise physiology, physical fitness, and training who will help you construct an exercise program that matches your conditions and goals. For even better results, think about talking to a nutrition expert about making sure you receive the right supplements, particularly the ones that are necessary for developing healthy bones.
Resistance exercises can include activities in which you move your body, a weight, or some other resistance against gravity. This includes lifting weights, using a weight machine, and performing squats using dumbbells or a resistance band. One scientific study confirmed the value of particular resistive exercises in improving the bone density of patients who were in danger of having low bone density in the future.
Weight-bearing and resistance exercises can help increase bone density. Weight-bearing exercises are activities in which your bones and muscles work against gravity. This may be any exercise where your feet and legs or arms and hands are bearing your weight and working against gravity, such as walking, dancing, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, playing tennis, and many other activities that help build stronger and denser bones.
Dietary Recommendations for Stronger Bones
The antioxidants – polyphenols, carotenoids, and vitamins C and E in the diet can reduce this oxidative stress to the bone, and with it, some symptoms. For the last 10 years in osteoporotic women, the research has been obeying these nutrient linkages to Bones’ Healthy Diet, and the thickness and buoyancy of their bones were the result. More research proves that a diet linked with vitamins C and E to bone density, with polyphenols – resorption decrease markers, with vitamin D and Omega 3 – increase markers of osteoblast production. On the other hand, a diet with high amounts of quick-releasing carbohydrates limits nutrient absorption essential to build strong bones. Understanding all these reactions is very difficult as the interactions among various nutrients change their potential for bone health.
Bone is a living tissue in the body that takes about 10 years to completely regenerate and grow, and dietary choices can help or hinder this process. Although nutrients such as vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus are the most well-known bone supporters, antioxidants and omega-3s are also necessary. Oxidative stress can hinder osteoblast cells from forming strong bones when bones are under inflammatory conditions, and omega-3s and antioxidants are necessary to reduce oxidative stress in the bones. By incorporating these nutrients into the diet, we can maintain both bone strength and optimal bone rebuilding capacity. Nutrients that support bone health and lessen inflammation need to be part of the complete management plan.
The facts: several different exercises have already been proven effective in conserving or building bone – but a treatment program that puts them together in a special way is even more valuable to maximize bone building benefits. However, as our world’s fast stepping pace of technological advance demands so much of our time to compete, we have to find this exercise program to be the one most powerful, least time consuming, most effective and easiest to adjust to individual differences in a most useful way. To get the maximum bone building benefits of loads, we need to strain muscles with more powerful loads – and the greatest force we can produce to strain them most, happens when an initial force is eased out in small intervals. Using traditional exercise techniques – almost always muscles are more conservatively (or even more than recommended by the experts in the field) loaded to give the bones a gentle massage the contraction of the muscles induces (compared to the huge loads that are used traditionally by fractures treatment specialists to heal bones like us). To determine what is best treatment for low bone density, consult a healthcare provider who may recommend medications, lifestyle changes, and dietary adjustments.
