You can take action to minimise your risk of developing osteoporosis and fracture by ensuring:

1. Adequate calcium
2. Adequate Vitamin D
3. Adequate Exercise

What Lifestyle Changes Should I be Making?

• Increasing your calcium intake through your daily diet plus supplements
• Increasing the amount of exercise every day
• Be conscious of your posture and work on trying to stand as erect as possible with a strong ‘core’.
• Stopping smoking • Increase your alkalized water intake
• Decreasing your alcohol intake
• Increasing your exposure to limited sunlight to increase vitamin D and add some supplementation for Vitamin D
• Learn some falls prevention strategies
• Your doctor might also change or reduce some of your medications, as they may be a cause of osteoporosis.

So What Sort of Exercise Should I be Doing?

This is the most important thing that you can be doing to help your bone density. Try to include some weight bearing exercise into your day, every day. It might mean that you walk more or get up and down from your chair more. If you are a lot fitter than that, you can do some squatting with light weights. If your arms are strong, add some light dumbbells into your hands when doing the arm exercises on the chair. Whatever you decide to do, you have to start to make a conscious effort to be consistent.

Do what exercises you are capable of from The Actively Ageing Kit, under the guidance of your Physiotherapist or your doctor. Check out the video of the TV & Kettle Exercises (on the website) as they are great to do for improving bone density and you don’t have to leave your living room!

Your bones were meant to bear weight so give them what they need to stay strong.

They are constantly responding to forces by remodelling so make them work!