Avoiding the onset of osteopenia

You can wait until your bone density decreases and then do something about it or you can be preemptive. What follows is the story of one person’s preemptive strategy.

One of the many applications of corticosteroid drugs is to manage the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS).  One of the side-effects of long-term use of corticosteroids is thinning of the bones (osteopenia). For those taking corticosteroids the Mayo Clinic recommends:

“To protect your bones, do weight-bearing exercise [strength training], avoid alcohol and don't smoke. Taking calcium and vitamin D supplements is another step you can take to help reduce the amount of bone loss caused by corticosteroids.”

Corticosteroids are often prescribed for asthma as well. I take a corticosteroid when my asthma flares.  I start at 60 milligrams and taper down to 10 milligrams.  Imagine taking intravenous doses of 1000 milligrams of corticosteroids for five straight days and doing that four to six times a year.

Glenn, one of the trainers at our Austin Strength Training  facility, has been taking those high doses to manage his MS symptoms. In his words, he has been taking “an ungodly amount of corticosteroids” for 13 years. 

Glenn is 52 years old, and he takes no calcium supplements. He began doing high intensity strength training shortly after being diagnosed with MS – once a week, for 30 minutes for more than a decade.  

The T-score on a bone density test shows how much your bone mass differs from the bone mass of an average healthy 30 year old. For Glenn’s latest bone density test they were expecting a T-score in the range of -1.5 to +1.  A T-score in the range of -1 to +4 is considered normal.  He was surprised to learn his test result was 3.  His bones were remarkably stronger than what they expected.

Another client, Wendy began weekly 30 minute strength training sessions. Twelve months later her bone density had increased 12.4%.

As osteopenia advances to osteoporosis it becomes less reversible. Don't wait until you have osteoporosis; take steps avoid the onset now.  That’s what Glenn and Wendy have been doing.

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The most important factor in any exercise program

Will you stick to the exercise program?  Nothing else matters if you don’t stick to it.   To increase your likelihood of success the exercise program should:

·       Be safe. If you are injured you are done.

·       Produce measurable weekly improvement.  If you don’t see real Improvement you won’t stick to it.

·       Address all aspects of fitness - particularly strength as this affects all the other aspects of fitness.

·       Incorporate breaks. Breaks prevent burnout and will actually increase results for certain exercise programs.

·       Not involve a lot of your time.

Using exercise studies as a starting point, the trainers at our New Orleans Strength Training  and Austin Strength Training locations have developed a 30 minute workout that anybody can do that produces weekly improvement. Commit to 30 minutes each week; you’ll improve each week, and over time your life will change, sometimes dramatically.  Changes our clients have experienced:

·       Client goes from five to one insulin shot a day

·       Client increases her bone density one standard deviation over two years

·       Client increases bone density 12.4 percent in twelve months.

·       Asthma patient increases air expulsion rate to highest reading in 12 years

·       After years of living with constant pain client now lives pain free

Thirty minutes of exercise a week (26 hours a year) is doable.  Without that investment of time and effort it is likely that your health will decline over the year, possibly drastically.  Major adverse health related events such as a heart attack or a herniated disc present setbacks that are often avoidable.  Is it worth 30 minutes of your week to enhance your well-being and lessen the likelihood of injury and sickness?  We think it is.