Fit and flexible into old age – that is what most people want. But only stressed bones can maintain their stability.
Regardless of whether you are a child, young person or adult: An active lifestyle at any age helps to strengthen the bones in order to avoid fractures later in life and to prevent osteoporosis (bone loss).
Muscles and bones form a unit. Bone-strengthening impulses are transmitted to the bones via the muscles and bone growth is stimulated. Sport is therefore an important prerequisite for keeping our bones healthy.
How stress strengthens bones
“Muscles and bones have to be stressed every day. The bone adapts to the requirements, so that greater stress also leads to stabilization and strengthening of the bone,” says Professor Andreas Halder, Deputy President of the German Society for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery (DGOU).
In older people, osteoporosis often affects the stability of the bone, which becomes porous as a result of the metabolic disease. But an active lifestyle can counteract this. Because bones change throughout life, they are not an unchanging or dead material.
What is osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis – also known colloquially as bone loss – is a systemic skeletal disease that causes the skeleton to be less stable. Systemic means that the bones of the entire skeleton are affected. Bone mass decreases and the risk of fractures increases.
Sport stimulates bone metabolism
Bones can be strengthened through regular, targeted exercise, because physical activity stimulates bone metabolism. “This happens through the muscles that pull on the bone. They give the signal to transport and store more calcium in the skeletal system,” says Professor Uwe Maus, head of the DGOU Osteology Section. At the same time, the musculature is strengthened, which always takes the strain off the endangered bones and provides more stability.
While it is believed that training and exercise will not restore lost bone mass, strength training is important. Sport protects against further injuries and reduces the risk of falling by building muscles and targeting the bones.
For young and old: These sports are recommended by experts
Children and young people in particular build up the necessary bone mass with a lot of exercise at a young age. In adults, regular exercise, but especially strength training, gymnastics and running, helps to stabilize the bones.
Depending on age, orthopaedists recommend the following sports to strengthen the bones:
- for children and young people: football, handball, volleyball, athletics
- from 40 years: jogging, Pilates, yoga, cycling, swimming
- from 60 years: walks, gymnastics, walking, strength and balance training
Osteoporosis is incurable, so prevention is all the more important
However, once the bone is broken down and porous, it can only be partially rebuilt. Therefore, in the case of osteoporosis, it is crucial to diagnose it as early as possible so that countermeasures can then be taken in a targeted manner.
The lack of stability quickly leads to broken bones. “The special thing about osteoporotic bone fractures is that they can occur without a fall or even after only a minor fall. The spine, shoulder, wrist and hip are most commonly affected,” says Maus.
“In many cases, spinal fractures can be treated without surgery,” says Professor Bernd Kladny, DGOU Secretary General. The situation is different with the hip, which usually requires surgical intervention.
In order to be able to optimally treat osteoporotic fractures in older patients, many clinics for orthopedics and accident surgery are certified as so-called geriatric trauma centers. There, the treatment is specially adapted to the needs of older patients together with all the necessary specialist disciplines.
Take broken bones seriously as warning signs
The treatment of the broken bone is only one part of the treatment, the preventive care afterwards also plays an important role. Because especially in the two years after the first fracture, the risk of further fractures is greatly increased and increases with each fracture.
It is therefore important, especially after an osteoporotic fracture, to clarify the severity of the osteoporosis and to initiate appropriate treatment as quickly as possible. For the group of patients in a geriatric trauma center, this clarification is part of the procedures defined there.
But not only old people suffer from osteoporosis, young patients are also affected, for example after long-term use of cortisone or other diseases. Fast follow-up treatment is also important for them.
Bone density measurement: an important diagnostic tool
Those affected who have not yet been accepted into a network of clinics and practices should present themselves to osteoporosis experts, such as orthopedists and trauma surgeons, after a fracture. There, in addition to recording the patient’s history and possible risks of osteoporosis – if necessary – a laboratory examination and a bone density measurement are also carried out.
