You At Your Best

By Karen rice you at your Best Every three seconds, someone breaks a bone due to osteoporosis, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation. Around the world, one in three women and one in five men over the age of fty will suffer a broken bone due to the disease. What is osteoporosis? Osteoporosis literally means 'porous bone.' Our bones are living tissue, and new bone is created throughout our lives. However, as we age, our bodies reduce the amount of bone produced, weakening them, literally, to the breaking point. Bone loss is gradual and painless and osteoporosis is often called a "silent disease" because most people experience no symptoms, until they break a bone… and it can often still go undiagnosed after that. There are things you can do to help keep your bones strong, including healthy diet and lifestyle, assessing your risk for the disease, and, of course, exercise. Yoga to the rescue Yoga is one of the exercises that has shown promise for bone health. It appears that the twists, bends and balancing of yoga can be a safe and cost-effective way to reverse bone loss and prevent fractures in aging adults. "Yoga stimulates the cells that make bones," says Dr. Loren Fishman, an assistant clinical professor at Columbia Medical School. Dr. Fishman, who is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, "had a kind of vision" about yoga for osteoporosis after attending a party with fellow yoga students and B.K.S. Iyengar, a renowned Indian yoga teacher. When he told his friends he thought yoga could combat osteoporosis, they were skeptical. There weren't studies to prove it. So Dr. Fishman began his own study. He took 200 patients with osteoporosis and divided them in half, doing nothing different with one group, and offering the second group a free one-hour yoga class in his New York City office one evening a week. A 12-pose regimen Then Dr. Fishman expanded the study, following 741 people with osteoporosis over 10 years. His patients practiced 12 yoga poses at least four days a week, holding each pose for at least 30 seconds. The study found significant improvement in bone density for the spine and femur among those who practiced yoga. Those in the control group who did not do yoga lost bone density during that time. Why hold the pose for 30 seconds? Researchers "looked at how long you have to stress a bone cell before it starts creating new bone" and learned that it starts after 12 seconds and stops after 72 seconds, Fishman says. He chose 12 poses designed to strengthen the spine, hip and femur, because those are the most common types of fractures. "I picked poses that would be cause pressure on those three places – twisting poses are good for the spine; standing poses are good for the femur; and the back bends in the bridge and locust poses are good for the hips," he points out. "I often compare the side effects of the medicine [used for osteoporosis] with the 'side effects' of yoga: better balance and posture, better range of motion, strength and coordination, all of which mitigate the risk of falling," Dr. Fishman emphasizes. "Also, the meds can only be given for a certain number of years, while yoga has no such limits." How to start? Look for classes specifically aimed at older adults, ones that use props such as blocks, a strap and a chair to make your yoga practice safe and accessible. Consult with your physician to determine if a bone density scan should be a part of your yearly physical. For more information on Dr. Fishman's study, check out www.sciatica.org. Then get out your mat, and do some yoga! July 2022 Fit X: eXercise & Fitness issue Feeling it in your bones Dr. loren Fishman "i'm 68, and have practiced yoga for years, but since i've been faithfully doing Dr. Fishman's exercises my tri-annual bone density results showed improvement in all measured points." — Kay F., patient Yoga: Posture, balance, strength, coordination, heart health, brain health, bone health…the benefits of exercise go on and on. And research shows that just about everyone benefits: men and women of all races and ethnicities, young children to older adults, women who are pregnant or postpartum, people living with a chronic condition or a disability, and people who want to reduce their risk of chronic disease. This issue of You at Your Best details the importance of exercise to a healthy lifestyle, and some great ways to add physical activity to your daily routine. President Brent A. Powers Sales Manager Don Jones Advertising Operations Manager Sandy Robinson Creative Services Manager Brian Huntley Content Marketing Manager Karen Rice 2 | you at your Best | youatyourBest.nwaonline.com July - Fit X: eXercise & Fitness | sunDay, June 26, 2022

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