How Yoga Can Help In Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a commonly found condition in senior citizens. The condition causes the renewal of living bone tissue to be slower than the removal of old bone tissue. The result is a weakened bone structure that can easily fracture. Mayo Clinic reports that in some cases, even mild movements such as bending and coughing can cause fractures to the weakened bones. A study by Osteoporosis Canada found that it is more likely to have a fracture caused by Osteoporosis than a heart attack, breast cancer or a stroke. The same study found that at around 33% of all women will suffer from a fracture caused by Osteoporosis within their lifetime. Men, on the other hand, were found to be at lower risk at 20%.

While this is a common condition that many people have to deal with, there are many solutions that can assist with the strengthening of the weakened bone structures in your body. Even when you have already suffered from a fracture caused by the condition, it is still possible to include some additional elements in your lifestyle to help decrease the chances of suffering from another fracture.

The Twelve-Minute Daily Yoga Study
A study on the effects yoga has on the human body’s bone structure were conducted by Dr. Fishman. He was accompanied by Bernard Rosner of Brigham and Women’s health Hospital and Lu from The Rockefeller University, as well as Dr. Gregory Chang from The New York University. The study was conducted on a total of seven hundred and forty-one patients. They asked these patients to complete a twelve-minute yoga regimen every day from 2005 to 2015. After the ten-year period, only two hundred and twenty-seven of the patients completed their exercises each and every day. Two hundred and two patients were female and the rest were male.

All patients were advised to perform a twelve-minute daily yoga routine. The routine included a total of twelve poses, each of which had to be held for thirty seconds. The poses that was introduced to the patients included bridge, twisted triangle, tree, warrior II, side-angle, triangle, bent-knee twist, corpse pose, straight-legged twist, supine hand-to-foot I, supine hand-to-foot II and the locust.

Bone density and several other radiography tests, including a dual-energy X-ray scan were taken of each patient at the start of the study. At the end of the study, the same tests were taken again. The results of each patient were compared in order to determine the effects yoga had on their bone structure and density. The study concluded that bone density in the spine and femur had a significant improvement. Bone density in the hip was also recorded as an improvement, but not on the same level as the spine and femur areas of the patients.

The study also found that no yoga-related injuries were recorded, thus confirming that yoga is a safe and reliable method for improving and assisting with osteoporosis.

Further information about the study and the results published on the matter can be obtained from the Geriatric Rehabilitation website.

Benefits Of Yoga For Osteoporosis

Yoga holds many benefits for the body, both physically and mentally. It has also been proven that yoga can assist in the improvement of bone density in patients suffering from osteoporosis. The reason for these benefits are related to the health-critical advantages yoga has to offer users.

One of the main benefits yoga has to offer anyone suffering from osteoporosis is the benefit of keeping your spine flexible, healthy and in a strong condition. Your spine is a critical part of your body and needs to be taken care of as it is connected to multiple moving parts of your body. It is recommended to partake in standing and seated yoga poses in order to keep your spine in a healthy state.

Yoga poses that involves standing, arm balances and inversions are also known to assist with bone density by assisting the retention of calcium within bones. This is only effective when your diet includes enough calcium-rich food. These positions are known to effect the arms, elbows, legs, ankles, feet, knees and your entire spine. It also promotes a full-range motion.

Yoga assists the body in a process where lymphatic fluids and stale blood are squeezed out of certain areas. These areas are then filled with fresh fluids and oxygenated blood. This helps the body get the nutrients it needs in certain areas, which is a great benefit patients diagnosed with osteoporosis can utilize.

Conclusion

While osteoporosis is a serious condition that can even be life-threatening, taking care of your bones can slow down the effects that weakens your bones and decreases your bone density. Yoga has been studied carefully and confirmed to be an effective method to keep your spine and other important bones in a healthy condition, prolonging the effects osteoporosis has on your body. This can assist patients in leading a normal, active lifestyle even when attacked by this condition.

References:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/osteoporosis/basics/definition/con-20019924
http://www.osteoporosis.ca/osteoporosis-and-you/osteoporosis-facts-and-statistics/