The issue of exercising with osteoporosis can doubtless be complicated. While, on one hand, physical activity is good for strengthening bones, certain exercises may place some people at risk of a fracture. As a result, confusion tends to abound – how much exercise should people with osteoporosis be doing and what types are safe?
In Patient’s recent survey of 281 healthcare professionals, doctors typically favoured lower-impact exercises: yoga/Pilates (recommended by 57% of doctors), bowls/pétanque (recommended by 49%) and swimming (49%). The least recommended activities were skiing/snowboarding (7%), skateboarding/rollerblading (6%) and rugby (3%) – all sports with a high risk of collisions or falls.
Osteoporosis Nurse Consultant Sarah Leyland, of the National Osteoporosis Society, thinks our respondents may be playing it safe – recommending the sports with the lowest risk of fracture, rather than necessarily the ones most likely to improve bone health.
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