Strength training and osteoporosis?

[Guest guest]

I was just talking to a PT, and she told me that a lot of her clients came

to her in an attempt to deal with osteoporosis. Not being able to make

that mental leap, I asked her what muscles had to do with osteoporosis.

She gave an explanation that had something to do with working the muscles,

hence " pulling " the bones and thereby increasing the bone density.

Told her I still didn't get it, but since osteoporosis isn't an issue for

me, I'd let it pass.

Was she selling me, or is there an actual relationship? It just doesn't

connect for me.

MFJ

If I have to be a grownup, can I at least be telekinetic too?

[Guest guest]

At 04:09 PM 8/6/04 -0700, you wrote:

>>Was she selling me, or is there an actual relationship? It just doesn't

>>connect for me.

>

>The theory is that if the bone " bends " a little (i.e. is under stress)

>then that triggers the bone to build mass. Conversely, astronauts

>in a weightless environment LOSE bone mass in space, which is

>a real problem for NASA.

Okay, the " stress " thing makes it make a little more sense. Hell, all I

have to do it watch my plants and see what stress does to them, each and

every one.

But it really works?

MFJ

If I have to be a grownup, can I at least be telekinetic too?

[Guest guest]

At 08:34 PM 8/6/04 EDT, you wrote:

>> Nope, she's not selling you. It's a known thing. In fact, strength

>> training with really old folks has been shown to build bone, if

>> HEAVY weights are used (such that the person can only do 8 reps

>> with that amount of weight).

>

>Hehe. In the world I come from, that's excessively light!

>

>Chris

Yes, well, we all know you have a stress wish.

MFJ

If I have to be a grownup, can I at least be telekinetic too?

[Guest guest]

It's not so much the muscles as it is applying weight bearing forces

throughout the skeletal structure in a variety of planes. This

triggers a physiological response whereby the body produces more bone

structure. It's the old 'use it or lose it'. A good vigorous yoga

routine (a la Ashtanga style) is one of the best ways I know to

accomplish this.

jo

On Friday, August 6, 2004, at 06:26 PM,

wrote:

> Strength training and osteoporosis?

[Guest guest]

>Okay, the " stress " thing makes it make a little more sense. Hell, all I

>have to do it watch my plants and see what stress does to them, each and

>every one.

>

>But it really works?

According to the studies, yes. It's basically an " accepted fact " even in

the more conservative medical circles. I can't say for sure in my own

case, I changed a lot of other things at the same time, but my dental

xrays changed drastically over a 2 year period (much more dense) ... I haven't

had a bone scan though.

However, if you DO weightlifting, after 2 weeks you will KNOW what it does.

It is amazingly effective, very quickly. It changes your hormone balance,

your blood sugar metabolism, your energy levels. Really! in 15 minutes

a day, with minimal equipment. And the more out of shape you are,

the quicker the results! And you get results even if you aren't doing it

" right " ... to get to the " high " levels you need more finesse, but at the

beginning levels, just lift something heavy til you can't lift it anymore.

(OK, can give you better instructions ...)

I do like yoga too ... it does different things in addition to building muscle

and bone. I don't think they are interchangeable though. Probably it is

best to do both. Yoga involves the mind, and discipline ... I can't explain

it well, do both and see what you need.

-- Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

At 11:25 PM 8/6/04 -0700, you wrote:

>>Okay, the " stress " thing makes it make a little more sense. Hell, all I

>>have to do it watch my plants and see what stress does to them, each and

>>every one.

>>

>>But it really works?

>

>According to the studies, yes. It's basically an " accepted fact " even in

>the more conservative medical circles. I can't say for sure in my own

>case, I changed a lot of other things at the same time, but my dental

>xrays changed drastically over a 2 year period (much more dense) ... I

haven't

>had a bone scan though.

Cool. So then I guess I was absolutely right to let all these

discussions here kick my arse into starting this - even if only because

it's going to have quite a few benefits other than the specific ones I was

looking for. Love it when a plan comes together.

>

>However, if you DO weightlifting, after 2 weeks you will KNOW what it does.

>It is amazingly effective, very quickly. It changes your hormone balance,

>your blood sugar metabolism, your energy levels. Really! in 15 minutes

>a day, with minimal equipment. And the more out of shape you are,

>the quicker the results! And you get results even if you aren't doing it

> " right " ... to get to the " high " levels you need more finesse, but at the

>beginning levels, just lift something heavy til you can't lift it anymore.

>(OK, can give you better instructions ...)

Well, my first session with her is Wednesday, so we'll see. She's given

me a fairly long shopping list, so I'll be having some fun at Fitness

Resource before then. :-D

MFJ

If I have to be a grownup, can I at least be telekinetic too?

[Guest guest]

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Heidi Schuppenhauer [mailto:heidis@...]

>

> According to the studies, yes. It's basically an " accepted

> fact " even in the more conservative medical circles. I can't

> say for sure in my own case, I changed a lot of other things

> at the same time, but my dental xrays changed drastically

> over a 2 year period (much more dense) ... I haven't had a

> bone scan though.

Are you suggesting that lifting weights has increased your tooth density, or

just that this fact would call into question the contributions of lifting

weights towards any increase in your bone density?

I've always assumed that the bone-strengthening effect of lifting weights

would be specific to the bones which it stressed, but now that I think about

it, the possibility of a general salutory effect can't be ruled out a

priori. Does anyone have any more information on this?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/7/04 9:26:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

heidis@... writes:

I really don't know ... there is some evidence that if, say, you exercise

ONLY your right leg,

your left leg gets stronger too. I think it's called the " crossover effect "

or some such.

I don't think they know exactly what causes it, but part of it is that

hormones get

released when you exercise that stimulate growth in general.

I suspect it's at least partially reflex-related. Certain muscle

contractions in one leg will cause different contractions in the other leg as a

reflex,

for stabilization purposes.

Similarly, by the way, it's also true that an isometric contraction in one

limb will increase the performance of a moving contraction in the other limb.

By the way... as to 's musing upon the possibility of a general

skeletal growth effect from weight lifting, I think it makes sense due to the

growth

hormone increases, etc.

Chris

[Guest guest]

>> According to the studies, yes. It's basically an " accepted

>> fact " even in the more conservative medical circles. I can't

>> say for sure in my own case, I changed a lot of other things

>> at the same time, but my dental xrays changed drastically

>> over a 2 year period (much more dense) ... I haven't had a

>> bone scan though.

>

>Are you suggesting that lifting weights has increased your tooth density, or

>just that this fact would call into question the contributions of lifting

>weights towards any increase in your bone density?

I really don't know ... there is some evidence that if, say, you exercise ONLY

your right leg,

your left leg gets stronger too. I think it's called the " crossover effect " or

some such.

I don't think they know exactly what causes it, but part of it is that hormones

get

released when you exercise that stimulate growth in general.

But in my case, the reason I don't know what made

my bones denser is that I also went GF ... ostopenia is a known side-effect of

gluten intolerance, and I was getting lots of bone pain. So going GF, eating

good food,

and lifting weights all happened at once, so I don't know what to attribute the

density to. Probably " all of the above " !

-- Heidi Jean