BONE HEALTH — OSTEOPENIA & OSTEOPOROSIS

Bones need a reason to stay strong.

We often think about building muscle, improving fitness or looking after our heart.

But what about our bones?

Bone is living tissue. Throughout life, old bone is continually being broken down and replaced with new bone.

And bone health is something to think about much earlier than old age.

We generally build bone throughout childhood and adolescence, reaching peak bone mass by our late 20s to around age 30.

After that, we tend to gradually lose bone as we age.

For women, bone loss can accelerate significantly around menopause, as falling oestrogen affects the normal balance between bone breakdown and bone formation.

So waiting until we're 60 or 70 to start thinking about our bones rather misses the point.

What we do in our 30s, 40s and 50s matters too.

The good news is that bone is responsive tissue.

And one of the most important things we can do is give it a reason to stay strong.

BONES NEED A SIGNAL

Bones respond to load.

When muscles work against resistance, they pull on our bones. Weight-bearing and impact activities create forces through the skeleton.

Those forces act as a mechanical signal that tells bone:

“We need you to be strong enough to cope with this.”

Without sufficient loading, bone doesn't receive the same stimulus.

That's one reason progressive strength training and appropriate impact exercise are so valuable throughout adulthood.

Think of it as investing before you need to make a withdrawal.

Don't wait until your bones are already weaker to start giving them a reason to stay strong.