Stress gets a bad press but when you apply it appropriately to bones, it’s a good thing. This is because bones adapt to stress in the form of weighted load or pressure. Like muscles, bones grow stronger if you exercise and weaker if you don’t.
It’s well-documented that exercise which puts weight or impact through the bones – such as running, skipping, jumping and dancing – triggers a response for them to grow and develop. Bodyweight exercise – such as squats, lunges, press ups and holding the plank – also boosts the production of new bone tissue. Finally, lifting weights – such as dumbbells, kettlebells and using exercise machines at the gym – also stimulate your bones to become stronger and denser.
The process whereby bones and muscles respond and adapt to heavy loading and impact force was identified back in the 1800s and is known as Wolff’s Law.
Meanwhile, the method that uses the principle of Wolff’s Law to improve bone health is known as osteogenic loading.
Osteogenic loading explained
When weight bearing activity is performed at the right level, it will create enough force on your bones to trigger the bone-building cells (osteoblasts) into action. For this reason, osteogenic loading can be very beneficial to people with weak bones, osteopenia or osteoporosis.
To achieve osteogenic loading, you need to push your bones beyond their normal load. The good news is that you only need to do this for a few minutes at a time to elicit the desired response.
The less good news is that hitting the right load or intensity can be hard to gauge so supervision from a personal trainer or trained expert is highly recommended to ensure you hit the right level safely.
A load on your bones but off your mind
Understandably, some people who have osteoporosis may feel fragile or weak and the thought of pushing their bodies and bones beyond their comfort zone is counterintuitive. Again, expert supervision and guidance can help here.
Another option now available in the UK is OsteoStrong – a range of state-of-the-art exercise machines that apply exactly the right amount of force for each individual to promote skeletal strength.
The idea is you engage in a series of movements on the four machines which, in turn, work all the bones in the body. A full session will see you push through your feet and legs, pull and push through your arms, cycle and step. All the while, you are resisting a safely applied force and load which triggers your bone cells into action. The load is increased at each session to gradually and safely build your bone and muscle strength but, unlike strenuous exercise, OsteoStrong is safe for joints, can be undertaken in normal clothes and won’t leave you feeling fatigued or sore.
Safe and effective
A particularly safe and effective system that triggers the growth of new bone and muscle density in 20-minute sessions, once a week, OsteoStrong is making waves in the bone health world. It has now arrived in the UK with the first site open in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
As with any exercise, OsteoStrong works best alongside good nutrition with the stress on the bones making them ‘hungry’ for nutrients. bonebalance is pleased to partner with OsteoStrong to help provide the high-level nourishment needed to feed the bones as they adapt and develop.
With results seen and felt within weeks, people are soon able to return to higher levels of weight-bearing, bone-friendly activity with their increased strength, balance and new-found confidence.