Nov 7, 20193 min read

Pilates for Osteoporosis

Over the years, I have worked with clients of all fitness levels and many with a variety of special conditions. I have never had a client with a perfectly balanced body because guess what?? Nobody is perfect! What's important is knowing what to do about your imbalances and/or special conditions so that you can not only continue to do the activities that you enjoy, but for some of us, just be able to function and do ordinary everyday tasks without pain or risk of injury. Today I wanted to talk about Osteoporosis, a special spinal condition, and what you can do for it.

In my experience, many are given the diagnosis of Osteopenia or Osteoporosis, but are not given much information about it. I wanted to share some basic tips for these conditions and then also a great full body workout video that you can do at home with minimal equipment.

What is the difference between Osteopenia and Osteoporosis?

Osteopenia is when your body is not producing new bone as quickly as it reabsorbs old bone. Essentially, your bones are beginning to weaken but you're not at the stage where they are going to break easily. If you haven't already, it is time to start a strengthening program to slow the advance of bone deterioration! Once you are at the stage where your bones are going to break easily, you have Osteoporosis. Both conditions are common but more so in women. There is also a genetic link to these conditions. While there is no cure for either, there are lots of things that you can do to help yourself prevent injuries. Protecting the bones by strengthening the muscles around them is number one!

But first, it's important to know which exercises are appropriate for you. With Osteopenia, there are no recommended physical limitations as with Osteoporosis. However, with osteoporosis you are more susceptible to bone fractures and other injuries (typically to the hip, the spine and the wrists). Thus, there are certain movements, in particular spinal movements, that you want to avoid in order to prevent injury.

Movements to avoid:

1. Flexion of the spine: Bending forward or rounding of the spine.

2. Loaded flexion of the spine: Bending forward with resistance

3. Loaded spinal rotation or spinal flexion with rotation: Bending forward and twisting at the same time.

Now I know what you're thinking, "well what the heck am I supposed to do now!?" These are everyday movements, right? Don't despair - I've got some safer options for you. What's most important to is to be more mindful of your daily activities and exercises to keep yourself safe.

Safer options for Movements to avoid which I mentioned above.

1. Flexion of the spine:

Instead of bending over to pick things up off of the floor, use your legs! Widen your stance, bend your knees (keeping them wide) into more of a squat position. Try and keep your spine in a neutral position and pick up the items that way. Another option is by kneeling into a half-lunge position and picking things up that way. You can use what's nearby for support (a chair, a table, a couch.. ).

2. Loaded flexion of the spine:

Instead of doing sit-ups and crunches (the weight of your body is the load here, and bending forward is the spinal flexion), do core strengthening exercises keeping the spine in a neutral position. You can also do abdominal work moving from Extension to neutral (using a foam roller or a mini stability ball).

3. Loaded spinal rotation/ Spinal flexion with rotation:

Instead of bending over and twisting to pick things up, use that squat stance from movement number one. Keep the spine as neutral as possible and then twist. Or when you are seated and need to turn your torso to look behind you (in the car, for example), think about sitting up tall and creating space in between each vertebra and then twist. Also, bicycle type crunches are another form spinal flexion w/rotation - avoid those as well.