Which yoga poses help with osteoporosis? (Part I)
Yoga has been shown to improve strength, balance, flexibility, coordination, posture, bone density and to decrease stress. All these qualities are important when you have osteoporosis as they help us prevent repetitive strain to the spine and vertebrae as well as helping to prevent falls and fractures.
To target bone density with osteoporosis you will want to pay attention to alignment, focus on poses that open and expand the chest, open the hips, and poses that strengthen muscles to support a taller spinal posture to minimize the rounding in the upper back (kyphosis). We would also be aware to avoid deep flexion or bending especially if there is body weight compression of the spine as in plow pose.
What yoga poses are good for osteoporosis?
The short answer is poses that creates compression, torsion, and/or tension in the bones. Let me explain that further.
We know bones respond positively to weight bearing exercise
We know bones respond positively to resistance exercise
We know bones respond positively to muscles pulling on bone
We know bones respond negatively to emotional stress
The good news is that yoga is a weight bearing exercise and uses gravity as resistance. Then we impart more force through the bones by adding the use of more muscle contractions in all three planes of motion with varied postures.
In case you are curious Body in Tune would love to collaborate with you to find your perfect movement practice for osteoporosis.
Let’s Talk about how
There is plenty of research that speaks about improving bone density through exercise. There is research on what types of exercise, how much, how many repetitions, how long, and how often to exercise to support our bones and improve bone density.
Our bones are living tissue that is constantly breaking down and rebuilding—this process is called remodeling. Wolfe’s law tells us that we build bone in response to the forces put through the bones. The force stimulates cells called osteocytes. Within the osteocytes there are osteoblasts and osteoclasts. The osteoblasts (aka the builders) are responsible for building new bone from the minerals in our system, hence the importance of a diet rich in vitamins and minerals. The osteoclasts (aka the cleaners/janitors) are responsible for breaking down the old and used up bones to make room for more new bone.
Before the about the age of 30 the osteoblasts build more bone than the osteoclasts remove. After age 30 or thereabouts the osteoclasts start to out pace the osteoblasts so we are breaking down bone faster than we are building it. This results in a net loss of bone density over time. It is normal and it happens to all of us, both men and women.
There is also a discussion to be had about how menopause, metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases and medications also affect the health and strength of our bones. (but this is for another time)
So how do we activate the osteocytes?
From Wolfe’s law we also know that if we put compression, torsion, and/or tension through the bones for a span of 12 -72 sec, the osteocytes especially the osteoblasts will jump into action.
Compression may come from weight bearing activity in the form of high or lower intensity exercise or muscles compressing the joints. Torsion is a rotational impulse that we can use to stress the bones. An example is actively externally rotating the hip in tree pose or triangle pose or the rotation in the spine in triangle or twisted triangle. Finally, tension is created by tightening the muscles. The muscles pull on the tendons that then pull on the bones thereby applying tension to wake up the bone building.
So how do we create the compression, torsion, and tension?
Many forms of weight bearing exercise have been studied and shown to improve bone density. High intensity exercise might be running, jumping, hiking, stair climbing, dance, or high impact aerobics. Low impact exercise might be walking, stair stepper, elliptical, low impact aerobics and yoga with standing poses or weight bearing on the arms as in plank pose.
To achieve muscles pulling on bones one might consider resistance training with bands, free weights or machines OR yoga using gravity as resistance. Dr. Loren Fishman (www.sciatica.org) has studied yoga poses with longer holds (remember the 12-72 sec) and shown improved bone density. Tightening as many muscles as you can helps create the tension, torsion and compression. Alignment will also play in important role in yoga postures to avoid injury but also to create the muscle coordination and the strengthening effects we are looking for when you have osteoporosis. Yoga can be used to help improve balance, agility, and coordination which are all key factors in avoiding falls.
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 address bone density concerns and enjoy your life off the mat with confidence.
What about stress cortisol?
Emotional stress plays a role in bone loss as the hormone stress cortisol pulls calcium out of the bones. Calcium is one of the major components needed to build strong bones. The practice of yoga postures but also the practice of breath work, often known as pranayama, has been shown to improve our response to emotional stressors. Breathing especially when focused on the diaphragm muscle at the lower ribs is a direct line into the nervous system. There are many references on breathing practices. James Nestor in his book, “Breath; The New Science of a Lost Art”, documents research that a breathing practice of 5.5 sec inhale and 5.5 sec exhale directly affects our nervous system and our overall health.
By holding poses for 12-30 sec while focusing on alignment and recruiting as many muscles as we can and maintaining steady, slower breathing, we can reap the benefits of stimulating the osteocytes to build bone and regulate our nervous system. For those of us who enjoy our regular yoga practices, we often seek the “yoga bliss” that we feel after community class.
Managing osteoporosis is a process of maintaining vitality that requires ongoing commitment to lifestyle changes. At Body in Tune we love to talk 1:1 with you about your yoga and breathing practice and help you design one that fits your needs, your body, and your time. Additionally, we can offer modifications to many poses to allow you to practice with confidence in a community class.
