If you don’t work on it now, it will take you down in the future. If you don’t spend time on it now, you could end up spending a great deal of money on it later.
You may have never heard of it. But, whether you like it or not, it’s going to affect your life and it is important for you to know about it now, when you’re a teen. The “it” that I’m talking about is Osteoporosis, which simply means bone (osteo) disease (porosis).
It is condition in which bone mass is reduced and this increases your chances of fractures. It affects many women after menopause and some men in older age and is said to be responsible for almost all the hip fractures in older people. Inevitably, women are affected more as pregnancy and breast-feeding can lower bone mass.
This disease is largely preventable if you get enough weight-bearing exercise when you’re young, stay active and continue other healthy habits as you age. The maximum size and density of your bones is determined by your genes but you need weight-bearing exercise to reach top strength. The best time to build bone density is during years of rapid growth. In short, the teen years are the best years for you to exercise.
With weight-bearing exercise your bones adapt to the impact of weight and pull of muscle by building more cells and becoming stronger. Examples of weight-bearing activity include brisk walking, jogging, hiking, heavy gardening, sports such as tennis, soccer, baseball, basketball and so on, skiing, skating, karate, bowling, dancing, step aerobics, stair climbing and weight training with free weights or machines.
Regular physical activity has been shown to influence good bone health throughout life and promises to be a good means of preventing osteoporosis. Recent studies suggest that that bone may be most responsive to the stimulus of weight-bearing exercise during the early growth periods when bone accrual is greatest and it is at this time that bone development becomes crucial. The best way to ensure this happens is to exercise.
It’s
time to wake up! Act now or you’ll regret later when you’re immobilized by
fractures and other associated health risks. You can protect yourself from
osteoporosis. Ideally, you should exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, four
or more days a week. To get the most of your weight-bearing exercise benefits,
you should increase the intensity and duration of the exercise. Besides
improving bone strength, regular exercise also increases muscle strength,
improves coordination and balance, and leads to better overall health.
I had tennis elbow
I am a BP patient. Starting the symptoms of Carpal tunnel syndrome
Indeed a much needed post for women, explaining the importance of doing regular workouts and physical activity. Thank you.