Bones are an integral part of our body, as we know, and they support our entire weight and function in conjunction with other body systems. Even though our muscles are the ones that essentially help our body parts move, the bones act as an anchor for all the muscles.

The skeletal system of our body is the framework for the whole body and keeps everything positioned where it should be. The skeletal system in our body is one of the biggest systems and constitutes about 15% of our total body weight. As explained by the authors, the functions of the skeletal system include supporting body movement, protecting internal organs and as a reservoir of minerals. (Su et. al, 2019)

Why is it important to focus on bone health as we age?

Since childhood, we are constantly undergoing a process where our body is breaking down old bone and making new bone. As we age, the body’s ability to make new bone is slower than the rate at which it is breaking down old bone. This may lead to an imbalance of a higher magnitude which may lead to conditions like osteoporosis as we age.

It is said that we reach our highest level of bone mineral mass around the age of early 30’s and then we slowly start losing more bone than we gain. If this rate becomes rapid, we may start having bones that are brittle as we get older and after having undergone several years of declining bone mineral mass.

What affects bone health?

As explained by the staff at Mayo Clinic, the following factors can affect our bone health – Amount of Calcium in diet, Physical Activity, Tobacco and alcohol use, Gender, Body mass index, Age, Race and family history, Hormone levels, eating disorders and Certain medications (Mayo Clinic, 2022).

What can we do to improve our bone health?

Adequate Calcium Intake: One of the most important things we can do is to have an adequate intake of calcium in our diet. As recommended by the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements, between the ages of 51-70 years, males have a recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 1000 mg and females have an RDA of 1200 mg for calcium. For people ages 70 years and above, the RDA is 1200 mg for both males and females.

Adequate Vitamin D intake: Another important nutrient that we need to ensure we have in adequate amounts is Vitamin D. This is the Vitamin that helps us absorb calcium from our blood in adequate amounts. So, just consuming calcium isn’t enough. We need to have adequate amounts of Vitamin D in our system to help us absorb the calcium we consume and deposit it in our bones.

Adequate exercise routine: It is very important to include weight-bearing exercises in our daily routine. These could be simple exercises like walking, jogging, running, stair climbing, etc. Any exercises that make you carry your body weight may help you strengthen your bones.

Avoiding substance abuse: Smoking and alcohol use may affect your bone health.

Impact of exercise on bone mineral density:

As we discussed earlier, exercise plays an important role in helping us improve our bone health. As explained by a systematic review of scholarly articles conducted by Benedetti et. al. (2018), Weight-bearing aerobic exercise can help improve bone mineral density in older adults. Walking is considered to be a very well-accepted exercise by older adults as it is relatively easy to practice, easily manageable for most people, and can be performed in most environments and situations.

As for the dosage of walking, it was recommended that performing 30 minutes of brisk walking, 3 or more times a week may help improve bone density. (Lan, 2022)

Hope you enjoyed reading this article on Building better bone health. Feel free to reach me at dbhatt@namasterehab.com  if you have any questions/suggestions regarding this article.

Contributed by: Darshan Bhatt, DPT

Darshan Bhatt is a physical therapist by training. He has worked in various healthcare settings around the country. He is the Founder and currently serves as President of Namaste Rehab. Namaste Rehab is a company that provides therapy services to seniors at their place of residence. Namaste Rehab’s motto is, “Why go to the clinic if the clinic can come to you!”

Darshan was born and raised in India. He moved to the United States for Graduate Schooling. He got his Master’s Degree from University of Buffalo. And then got his Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree from Utica University. He has lived and worked in the Greater Philadelphia area for the past 12+ years.

After seeing the dire need for rehab services for seniors who could not access care during the COVID pandemic, Darshan decided to start his company. He decided to cater to clients who could not access care or would rather choose to receive services at home for convenience, safety or other reasons.

 

 

Friends Life Care offers readers different topics in the eMeetinghouse blog. As a nonprofit organization founded on Quaker values, Friends Life Care has a mission to serve older adults. Part of this is to help them achieve their goal of living independently at home as they age.  If you are not yet a member and have any questions about Friends Life Care, contact a Plan Counselor. 

If you are already a member, reach out directly to your dedicated care coordinator.

 

 

Sources

Benedetti, M. G. (2018). The Effectiveness of Physical Exercise on Bone Density in Osteoporotic Patients. BioMed research international.

Lan, Y. S. (2022). The volume of brisk walking is the key determinant of BMD improvement in premenopausal women. PloS one, 17(3).

Lorincz, C. M. (2009). Bone health: part 1, nutrition. Sports health, 1(3), 253–260.

Mayo Clinic. (2022, December 3). Healthy Lifestyle Adult health. Retrieved March 2024, from mayoclinic.org: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/bone-health/art-20045060

Su, N. Y. (2019). Bone function, dysfunction and its role in diseases including critical illness. International Journal of Biological Sciences, 15(4), 776–787.