Ok, so what about Pilates
and osteoporosis? It’s more a series of “Don’ts” from
the look of it. If there’s any osteoporosis in the thoracic
spine – the bit between the shoulderblades – over time
the spine will crumple in on itself to form what is known as “Dowager’s
Hump”. And at this point it gets nasty…seems like just
about ANYTHING (including sneezing) can cause the vertebrae to
fracture. Don’t like the sound of that!
Everybody’s heard of Dowager’s Hump. My grandmother
had it….she NEVER got any exercise and spent her days reading
and watching telly surrounded by a cloud of cigarette smoke with
a glass of brandy beside her. Although she did live to be 81, God
bless her. Heart like a swinging brick…. Looks like my mother
is starting with the thoracic osteoporosis as well…but it
won’t develop into the Hump From Hell. Not on my watch.
It seems to be quite a modern scourge, this osteoporosis….seems
like our lives are too physically easy these days. Not enough weight – bearing
work. Lack of calcium in the bones. Men can get it too, but women
are much more likely to because of factors such as menopause and
the reduction of the hormone oestrogen that it brings with it.
The inside of the bones is destroyed faster than it is being rebuilt,
resulting in the bones themselves becoming almost “spongey”.
Add weak muscles from a physically inactive lifestyle and what
do you get? That’s right. Fractures. And they don’t
heal well. Not something to look forward to, is it?
Smoking doesn’t help either (oh surprise, surprise!) and
neither does excessive alcohol consumption (rats!!). Add a “modern” junk-and –convenience
food diet and is it any wonder that close to half of all women
in the USA over the age of 50 will suffer from osteoporosis? And
where the USA goes….
Unfortunately, that’s true. There is little goodness or
calcium in modern pre-packaged foods. Take packaged white bread,
for example. The fibre and husk is removed, all the goodness ground
out by machine. Then preservatives are added, then chemical forms
of calcium and vitamins, sometimes even brown food dye are put
back in! I wouldn’t even feed it to my dog. Spongy, tasteless….Bleah.
(That’s the bread, not the dog!). At the very least, buy
stoneground wholemeal or granary bread. Preferably organic. Ideally
we should all make our own. Before you ask, no I don’t. But
I should…
We’ve gone a bit off subject here, so I’ll return
to the “Don’ts” of exercise and osteoporosis.
First of all, go for your bone scans regularly! They can spot the “prequel” to
full-blown osteoporosis, which is called osteopenia…certain
bones are beginning to thin, usually lower back (lumbar spine).
Next, take note of any height loss, or if your arms seem longer.
No, I am NOT kidding! Also, if you have waist, rib or mid-back
pain for no apparent reason, go see the doc or physiotherapist.
If you have osteopenia or osteoporosis of the spine:
- DON’T bend your back forward and round your shoulders…hinge
from the hip.
- DON’T do side bends.
- DON’T do Abdominal crunches with your head raised.
- ESPECIALLY DON’T bend forward and twist your spine.
PLEASE DON’T do high impact exercise, like fast aerobics. Yes, some
impact is necessary for your bones, but the accident risk of what I call the “headbanging” classes
is unacceptable. Remember, you’re not just going backwards and forwards
in these classes, but sideways and round in circles, with quick changes of
direction. (High impact is both feet off the floor at the same time, as in
skipping or jogging).
And don’t do the ironing. Seriously, the position most of
us iron in is lethal. Get your board to the right height and put
1 foot on a box. Or even better, keep a local cottage industry
going by sending your ironing out to someone else…I do!
I really cannot persuade my mum to do the same….trying to
prevent her ironing is like trying to stop a freight train with
a tube of toothpaste. She’s going to throw that iron at me
one of these days… And she has a mighty good aim. Now that
would count as high impact!!
More on the “Do’s” next time… |
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