3 keys takeaways from Yoga vs osteoporosis training.

I had the pleasure of spending a weekend listening to and learning from Dr. Loren Fishman during his yoga teacher certification to teach the Fishman Method of Yoga vs Osteoporosis. He was clear. His studies have focused on how to prevent fractures at the hip, in the femur (thigh bone) and in the spinal bones (vertebrae). The key takeaways were about the refractory period and how it affects bone building, how traction of the spine stimulates bone remodeling, and that twisted triangle alone practiced 3x per day improved bone density better than his entire 12 pose practice. Let me explain.

Refractory Period

Wolfe’s law is one of the guides for yoga vs osteoporosis. The law essentially says that living bone continually adapts to the mechanical loads placed upon it. This tells us that we can stimulate the building and remodeling of the inner trabeculae of our bones by loading them. The refractory period is the amount of time it takes cells to recover from doing their job so that they can snap back and do it again. What we learned was that nerve cells are able to send a signal every 2-4 milliseconds, muscle cells are able to contract every 2-5 milliseconds, bone cells are able to create new bone about every 6-8 hours, and the thyroid can create a new hormone every 3-5 days.

So Dr. Fishman now recommends breaking his 12 poses for osteoporosis into two practices to be done 6-8 hours apart for the best bone building. This has it’s benefits. It takes 6-10 min depending on your use of props to do each practice.

The second practice is a perfect wind down before bed as it targets stretches. Did you know that stretching the hamstrings, the back of the thighs, signals the brain to slow down and improves your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. I like to add a back bend over a folded blanket (right below the shoulder blades) and legs up the wall to round out my practice. It’s amazing how well I’m sleeping! Would you like to experience a good night’s sleep?

Body in Tune would love to help you create your personalized yoga practice so that you can find your “calm” on a daily basis.

Traction of the Spine Stimulates Remodeling.

Dr. Fishman reviewed a study that looked at how the spinal vertebra responded to forces imparted on the bones. See reference below. They studied pulling or tension, compressing, and a rotational force. All three appeared to stimulate the osteocytes the cells responsible for bone clean up and building which we need with aged related bone loss.

You might ask, what do I mean by traction of the spine? Traction is a movement that creates space between the vertebra, each segment of bone in the spine. This is pulls vertically on the top of bottom of the vertebral body due to the attachment of the discs to the bodies of the vertebra. To traction your spine first imagine and practice sitting taller, as if you were growing your spine. This is the first stage. In the Fishman Method of Yoga vs Osteoporosis we teach you to the add force from your hands and arms.

Imagine doing a level 1 camel pose using the wall as a prop. You would kneel facing the wall and press your thighs and pelvis against the wall. Then you place your hands on the wall (like preparing to do a push up) at or just below shoulder height. If you press into the wall to gain traction (the sticky kind rather than lengthening) and pull down, you will make yourself taller but with an added force. This is tractioning the spine. Once here, you can continue into your camel pose for low bone density.
Remember to breathe to that you get the benefits of quieting the nervous system to feel calmer and less stressed.

According to the research, we will stimulate bone clean up and remodeling by holding this pose for 12-72 sec.

Good news! Body in Tune would love to collaborate with you to teach you this precise yoga practice and to support your ongoing practice so you can enjoy your life off the mat with confidence.

Twisted Triangle Improves Spinal t-Scores

You read that correctly. In fact the results from Dr. Fishman’s current study show that doing twisted triangle pose 3x per day for 45 sec hold improves the t-score better than his entire 12 pose practice. Please note that over the 15-20 years of his studies, Dr. Fishman has not had a spinal fracture reported from doing the controlled twisting poses in his study practicing yoga to address bone health and osteoporosis.

There is a very particular way to do the twisting poses, so I can not emphasize enough that you would be wise to find a Fishman trained yoga teacher to check your form and or teach you how to use props like a wall or chair effectively to avoid rounding the spine while doing poses like twisted triangle for your bone density.

I caught myself during my online Yoga for Your Bones class, that when I tried to go deeper into the pose, I bent further than my hips and hamstrings could allow and I rounded my upper back before I twisted. Had I seen my students doing this I would have pulled them out of the pose to readjust their use of props. I got lucky, no injury this time. A reminder to check my form or to have a teacher observe me once in a while to keep me honest.
In case you are curious Body in Tune would love to collaborate with you to create your version of the Yoga vs Osteoporosis poses.

To Review

Dr. Fishman’s version of the 12 yoga poses are specifically chosen to build bone in the spine, hip, and femur, the places we fracture most frequently with osteoporosis. They are also the areas that can limit our ability to stay independent as we age. As a physical therapist, I also see the need for building muscle because research is showing that building muscles also builds strong bones. We also need to be practicing balance and agility exercises and strengthening the upper back muscles to improve our posture (decreasing the hump in the mid to upper back) to minimize our risk of falls.

After the weekend practice and review I am even more excited about teaching these yoga poses. It has reinvigorated my home practice and my online class.

Body in Tune, LLC was born from a belief that quality of life matters; both life and physical balance matters.

I would welcome the opportunity to be part of your support team with regards to women’s health, your muscles, joints, bones and osteoporosis. The goal is, after all, to help you feel confident in your body so you can play with your grand children, take that long-dreamed of vacation and get outside and enjoy a walk with friends.

This is a comprehensive class of yoga, balance and agility exercises, strengthening for the core and upper back so you can feed confident, strong, and agile.

Reference: Crisofolini L, Brandolini N, Danesi V, Juszczyk MM, Erani P, Viceconti M. “Strain distribution in the lumbar vertebrae under different loading configurations,” Spine J. 2013 Oct;13(10):1281-92.