INCREASE YOUR BONE DENSITY
Hi Finola,
I was diagnosed with osteopenia over a year ago after getting a DXA scan. I was advised to take a calcium supplement to prevent the progression to osteoporosis. I am doing this but I’m just wondering if you have any other advice that I could do before my next DXA scan. Ideally, by then I would like if I could stay in the osteopenia stage. I will do anything to try to prevent a further regression of bone density. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks,
Joan
Hi Joan,
Many people get confused between osteoporosis and osteopenia. Osteopenia is similar to osteoporosis in that it is also a loss of bone density. However, osteopenia is not as severe as osteoporosis. Great to hear you have got a DXA scan and linked in with your GP for calcium supplementation. The good news is that you not only can prevent further bone loss/ prevent going into the osteoporosis stage, it is also possible to return to normal bone density through supplementation and guided exercise. The same goes if you were in the osteoporosis stage, you can improve your bone density and return to the osteopenia stage.
Supplementation is important such as calcium and Vitamin D, if you chat to your GP if you haven’t already done so this would be a good idea.
Stopping smoking if you are a smoker. Smoking is one of the risk factors for osteoporosis and one that we have control of. Smoking stops the body’s ability to absorb calcium and therefore leads to a lower bone density. By stopping smoking it will be easier to increase bone density.
Finally, exercise such as walking and guided strength training will help increase bone density also. I would say that generally, strength training is underutilised and really can have a great effect to improve bone density. It is important that you gradually introduce these exercises to your daily routine, strength training should be done by all age groups.
In conclusion, a combination of supplementation, stopping smoking, increasing your exercise and starting strength training would be my advice.
If you have any other questions feel free to get in touch with us again,
Finola