Osteoporosis: How Nancy Improved Her Bone Health with Focused Exercise

Two years ago, Nancy Thomas was scared when her physician suggested that she try medication to treat her advancing osteoporosis. Nancy knew that the medication had serious side effects and was expensive.

When Nancy hesitated, Dr. Robin Curry offered another suggestion: Try the osteoporosis exercise programs at Holly's Pilates Village. Dr. Curry, a primary care sports medicine physician with Norton Orthopaedic Specialists, had recommended the studio's programs to other patients who had made improvements. So, Nancy decided to try.

After visiting the studio and taking some introductory sessions, Nancy dove into our group classes. She has faithfully taken Bone Strong Pilates and Yoga for Osteoporosis classes at least twice a week for two years. Also, she practices many of the exercises at home, walks on a treadmill, and uses a related DVD for her home practice.

Still, Nancy was apprehensive when she returned to Dr. Curry's office this spring to get a follow-up DEXA scan, which evaluates bone mineral density. To Nancy's delight and relief, her bone density scores had improved in every category except for a 1/10th of 1 % reduction in one hip, which the doctor said was "negligible" and not worrisome.

"I started crying. I had been so nervous," Nancy says. She reports that Dr. Curry told her, "Whatever you are doing, keep it up."

How the Exercises Work

Nancy's experience with our osteoporosis program is not unique. We hear similar stories all the time at Holly's Pilates Village. The reason is that our osteoporosis classes teach people research-based techniques to improve their bone strength. Using the body as its own force for resistance, we stress weight-bearing movements that target the areas most likely to fracture, such as the hip, the wrist, and the spine. Every class also features exercises to help people improve their coordination, balance, and core strength to prevent falls.

For example, in the Yoga for Osteoporosis class that Studio Owner Holly Holland created, participants use a folding chair for some poses to improve their steadiness and to create opposition force. We also use bands and blocks to help the bones and muscles strengthen each other with resistance. (See an example video on YouTube)

"Dynamic tension occurs when one muscle or muscle group opposes the action of another, and not coincidentally this happens when practicing most yoga poses. The force created is greater than gravity," Dr. Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall write in Yoga for Osteoporosis (W.W. Norton & Company, 2010.) "Muscular activity stimulates bones to strengthen themselves much more vigorously than weight-bearing alone, and in so doing can protect the bones from inordinate thinning."

Similarly, in the studio's Bone Strong Pilates classes, Holly's Pilates Village students learn how to strike their heels to stimulate bone in the hip, how to create axial elongation in the spine to reduce compression, and how to hinge from the hips rather than to round or flex the lumbar spine.

Nancy Thomas says she doesn't understand all the ways that the osteoporosis exercises work for her benefit, but she is grateful for the studio and the friendships she has made with other students and teachers.

"You make it so enjoyable!" Nancy says. "It's not drudgery. I look forward to coming."