Bone may look dry and dormant, but they are actually living tissue that can get stronger with the right kind of exercise. Research now shows that new bone cells develop in areas where muscles tug at bones and when body weight impacts the ground with more than usual force.

“The body is ever changing,” explains physical therapist Patrice Winter, M.S. “Exercise that ‘loads’ or puts extra pressure on bones causes new bone cells to grow—not as efficiently as when we were young, but enough to make a significant difference.”

Depending on your health and fitness level (and with your doctor’s permission), consider these exercises to help bones stay strong as you move through life.

Light Weights: To strengthen wrist bones, hold onto soup cans and move the joint in all directions. Instead of using soup cans, look around your home for bottles of dish or hand soap that fit easily in your hand. When empty, fill them with sand, or small pebbles from the yard.

Stair Climbing: If your balance is good, climbing stairs is a great way to build bones in the hips, legs, and feet. Going up and down stairs involves standing on one foot in order to move the other one, and will further improve balance and prevent potentially devastating falls.

Take 10, Three Times Daily: Everyone can do three 10-minute sets of exercises that are matched to their capabilities. Beginners can sit in a chair and kick their feet out, or use the soup cans to do arm (biceps) curls. When standing, lift the cans in front of the body or above the head. March in place.

Work up to 30 minutes, Five Days a Week: Most people can do Tai chi. Yoga practice ranges from gentle movements performed sitting in a chair to Hot Yoga that works every body system. Use common sense, and always adapt Tai chi and yoga positions to what is comfortable for you. Brisk walking, golfing, and dancing all provide full range of motion. Hiking puts more pressure on the body than walking on a paved surface, and using a walking stick loads bones of the upper body as well.

Know Your Start Zone: Remember, exercises to tone the bones must put more pressure on skeleton than do your everyday activities. But don’t do too much, too soon. Honor your body, and consider consulting a medically trained physical therapist to design a fitness plan that is safe and effective for you. For a nine-question quiz to assess your current level of motion, and to find a physical therapist near you, visit www.moveforwardpt.com.

Physical therapist Patrice Winter, M.S., is affiliated with the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Academy of Manipulative Physical Therapists, and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Strong Bones for Life The Saturday Evening Post

Two recent warnings serve as important reminders for us (and our doctors) to always carefully weigh the risks as well as the benefits of taking medicines and dietary supplements.

Calcium Supplements for Bones

Controversial research linking calcium supplements to an increased risk of heart attack published in a leading British medical journal is raising eyebrows around the world.

“A paper published in the July 2010 issue of the prestigious British Medical Journal found from 11 randomized studies (around 12 000 participants) that healthy women treated with calcium supplements (without vitamin D) had about a 30% increase in the incidence of heart attacks compared with those treated with placebo,” explains heart rhythm expert Dr. Douglas Zipes. “Studies on dietary calcium intake do not show such an increase so the risk appears to be due to the calcium supplements alone. Calcium supplements reduce the risk of bone fractures by only about 10%, so the benefits of taking them may not outweigh the risks for most individuals.”

Researchers say that even a small increase might translate into large numbers of women at risk because of the widespread use of calcium supplements. Others note that the findings are not based on studies designed to prove cause and effect.

PPIs Reduce Stomach Acid

In May, the FDA reported that high doses or long-term use of popular proton pump inhibitor (PPI) medicines for chronic heartburn may increase the risk of hip, wrist, and spine fractures.

PPIs effectively reduce stomach acid to treat heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux, and ulcers—conditions that, left untreated, can have serious consequences.

As a precautionary step, however, revised labels on prescription and over-the-counter PPIs will reflect the increased risk of broken bones, say federal health experts.

Prescription PPIs are Nexium, Dexilant, Prilosec, Zegerid, Prevacid, Protonix, Aciphex, and Vimovo.

Over-the-counter PPIs are Prilosec OTC (omeprazole), Zegerid OTC (omeprazole), and Prevacid 24HR (lansoprazole).

“Because these products are used by a great number of people, it’s important for the public to be aware of this possible increased risk,” said Joyce Korvick, MD, deputy director for safety in the FDA’s Division of Gastroenterology Products, in an FDA press release.

Advice for Consumers

“Before discontinuing any medicine and supplement, individuals should first check with their provider about specific risks and benefits,” advises Dr. Zipes.

Future research will better clarify the risks associated with calcium supplements and PPIs.

In the meantime, read and follow all product labels and talk to your health care professional about any concerns you have about using dietary supplements and drugs.

Click here for more from Dr. Zipes and his new book. The Black Widows | Saturday Evening Post

Drug Alerts The Saturday Evening Post

Blooming Prairie, Minnesota

Your symptoms match those of Dupuytren’s contracture, a sometimes disabling (but not dangerous) condition that pulls fingers toward the palm and locks them there. It’s unrelated to arthritis. “Dupuytren’s causes painless contraction of fibrous tissue directly under the skin of the palm and fingers, and may be associated with nodules or cords in the palm. Over time, an affected finger may bend into a hook,” notes Dr. Taizoon H. Baxamusa, who is affiliated with the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois Bone & Joint Institute in Morton Grove. “The cause of Dupuytren’s is not known; however, there is a strong hereditary association, especially among people of Northern European or Scandinavian descent. It’s more common in men than women, and risk increases with age.

“Dupuytren’s is sometimes confused with trigger finger, tendonitis, or arthritis. Try this simple test: Place the hand and fingers flat on a tabletop. If you are unable to do so, or the finger curls under, you may wish to seek a formal evaluation by an orthopaedic surgeon.”

New treatments include nonsurgical needling techniques and injections of the biologic drug Xiaflex.

Crooked Finger? The Saturday Evening Post

Phyllis
Kentucky

It is good advice to discuss your treatment options with an endocrinologist—who specializes in hormones, minerals, and bone health—especially when any standard drug therapies for osteoporosis are worrisome or ineffective.

Alternative prescription therapies for osteoporosis may include Evista (tablets with estrogen-like action), Forteo (an injectable form of synthetic parathyroid hormone), and Calcitonin (a nasal spray or injectable form of a hormone involved in calcium metabolism).

Osteonecrosis (bone death) of the jaw, or ONJ, is a very rare complication of bisphosphonate drugs (including Actonel, Fosamax, Boniva, and Reclast) which, when it occurs, typically follows a tooth extraction or other trauma to the jaw, says Dr. Arnold Moses, distinguished service professor of medicine and director of the osteoporosis center located in the Joslin Center at the SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, and his colleague Dr. Jennifer Kelly, assistant professor of medicine, who explain:

“To avoid ONJ, people taking bisphosphonates are advised to get regular dental checkups and to inform their dentist of all their medications. Authoritative groups emphasize that, in the majority of people with osteoporosis, the value of preventing fractures with bisphosphonates far outweighs the risk of ONJ, since the lifetime risk of an osteoporotic fracture can be up to 50 percent.”

To optimize drug therapy and protect bones for life, experts also recommend the following:

Get at least 1,200 mg of calcium and 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily from foods and supplements.

Walk, dance, or do other weight-bearing exercise regularly.

Don’t smoke.

Building Better Bones The Saturday Evening Post