Osteoporosis

Posts Tagged ‘osteoporosis’

“So What If I Die Out of Shape?”

Friday, August 27th, 2010 by Karena

This quote-of-the-day comes from a long-time patient and retired doctor who calls

Our 'Five-Toe' is even Cuter than this Sloth!

himself ‘The Five-Toed Sloth”. He retired from doctoring due to back/hip pain and we’ve been working together for about 5 years. He is definitely a believer in the ability of movement to heal pain and is hugely grateful for that pain relief.

So ‘Five-Toe’ (what we call him for short) came in discouraged and out blurted a variation on the ‘death statement’. You’ve probably heard something along the lines of: “It doesn’t matter what I do; we are all going to die anyway”. Yes, but wouldn’t it be great if we could all live while we are still breathing?

Do you know anyone who has spent years of their lives hindered because of disease or pain? How much of this is preventable? Almost all heart disease, all Type II diabetes and approximately 50% of all cancers are preventable with healthier diet decisions. Colon cancer risk is reduced 30% with daily exercise, depression is reduced, energy is increased, pain is reduced… In fact, I’ve never seen a single study that said: “Just eat Twinkies and for heaven’s sake STOP exercising!”

But let’s get back to good ol’ “Five-Toe”. I don’t put him through a series of therapeutic exercises twice weekly in order to keep people from sadly shaking their heads at his funeral: “Too bad he died so out-of-shape.” No, we work together so he can live while he is still breathing. So that when he does pass away no one will say: “What a relief; he suffered for so long.” No, they’ll remember him for doing just what he wanted and just what he loved every day that he lived.

Tags: back pain relief, Exercise for Back Pain, exercises for pain relief, heal back pain, heal pain, karena thek lineback, live without pain, lower back pain, osteoporosis, Pain Relief, Pilates Exercise, range of motion exercise
Posted in Cancer, For Fitness Fanatics, Heal Your Back Pain | No Comments »

Calcium Supplements Raise Heart Attack Risk 31%

Monday, August 2nd, 2010 by Karena

According to the British Medical Journal (July 2010), calcium supplements may increase bone density but they do not reduce fracture risk. The supplements have also been found to increase your heart attack risk by 31%. So, I’d say it’s time to start looking at other options for obtaining your calcium and for reducing your fracture risk.

To reduce your fracture risk, I recommend this exercise: Weighted Spine Extension. The link below goes to a previous blog that describes a single exercise that can reduce your fracture risk 300%. That is not a typo. 300%! That’s huge. (Mayo Clinic 2002). See the exercise here: I want to reduce my fracture risk!

Now for the recipes. Many people taking calcium supplements are doing so because they get

Rhubarb is high in calcium! Who knew?

bloated or gassy or just experience pain from eating dairy products. You don’t have to eat dairy to get loads of calcium. And the really good news is that the dairy alternatives generally carry all kinds of amazing anti-oxidants that are going to do a lot more for you than just keep your bones safe, but more on anti-oxidants in a future post.

Kale and Plum Vinegar and Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce are the treats awaiting you. Both kale and rhubarb are high in calcium.

Kale and Plum Vinegar

2 bunches of Kale cut into one inch widths
1 t minced garlic
1 onion; halved and sliced into crescents
2 T of plum vinegar

Boil the kale for about 3-7 minutes until tender. While that is boiling, steam-fry your onion and garlic. When the kale is tender, drain it and add it to your onion and garlic. Add the plum vinegar and stir fry for about 2 minutes. I like to put the kale in a circle around the dinner plate with brown rice and beans and fresh tomatoes in the center. Enjoy!

Strawberry, Rhubarb, Rose Water Syrup

2 cups sliced rhubarb
2 T fresh squeezed orange juice
1 cup turbinado
1/2 cup water
1 T corn starch, dissolved in 2 T water
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1 tsp rosewater

Toss the rhubarb with the orange juice and turbinado. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until the rhubarb is cooked through. Let cool at room temperature. In a saucepan, combine the water, 2 T turbinado and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and cook for 2-3 minutes until the liquid becomes clear. Stir in the strawberries and the rhubarb and the rosewater. Refrigerate 2 hours or until well chilled.

Recipes: These recipes are from The Artful Vegan. The Artful Vegan is a cookbook created by The Millenium Restaurant in San Francisco. I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. Take your non-vegan friends and you’ll have some converts for sure. Here’s the link to Amazon if you’d like to check the book out: The Artful Vegan.

Tags: core muscles, karena thek lineback, osteoporosis, pilates
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Exercises for Better Balance

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 by Karena

As promised on the National Osteoporosis Discussion Board here are two exercises that will improve your balance. When you have low bone density, better balance will greatly reduce fracture. It makes sense, right? The better balanced you are the less likely you are to fall. If you don’t fall, then your fracture risk is greatly reduced. Try these two balance exercises:

1. All Four’s Balance.

Does it makes sense to practice balance on all four’s when we are not exactly likely to fall in this position? Yes, it does makes sense because it makes your balance muscles fire. It makes those balance muscles more likely to fire and work correctly when you are in a standing position.

Here’s how it’s done.

Kneeling on all four’s, lift your right hand off the floor just 2-3 millimeters. Once balanced, keep the right hand lifted and now lift the left knee 2-3 millimeters. Keep in mind that 2-3 millimeters is VERY small. If someone were standing across the room watching you perform this exercise they might not be able to tell that you have moved at all. Now put the right hand and left knee down and pick up the alternate side. Each time you lift a hand and an arm, hold for three seconds.

2. Standing Balance.

Standing next to a support (the kitchen counter is great), place your right heel directly in from of your left toes. Slowly, try to let go of the counter and see if you can maintain your balance. Keep your hand close to the counter or support, though. You want to be able to grab the counter if you need the support. Try to build up to 30 seconds of balance and then change legs.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions. Karena
p.s. Sorry for the sexy pic, but honestly, you should have seen the other options. This one is MILD.

Tags: balance, karena thek lineback, osteoporosis, pilates, pilates exercise for balance, practice balance, reduce falls, reduce fracture risk
Posted in Case Studies, For Fitness Fanatics, For Professionals, Heal Your Back Pain | No Comments »

Osteoporosis: Bone Quantity v. Bone Quality

Monday, September 14th, 2009 by Karena

In some cases, you can exercise ’til the cows come home (does anyone know where this expression came from? Really? ‘Til the cows come home?!) and you still get no improvement in your bone density. So is it all a huge waste of time? No. Especially not if your fracture rate was reduced 300% compared to your peers who didn’t exercise.

These are the results of a study by the Mayo Clinic. The 10-year follow-up of the initial study was done in 2002. Twelve years prior, the study began. Fifty post-menopausal Caucasian women were divided into two groups: an exercise group and a non-exercise group. The exercising group were given a spine extension exercise to perform 5 days a week for two years. The spine extension exercise performed by the exercising group is similar to the picture below. But instead of the weights being hand-held they were placed in a backpack over the upper back (between the shoulder blades). Progressively the weight was increased to 50 pounds. I know…. it does seem excessive but I am just reporting on what was performed in the study.

The results of the women performing this exercise were pretty remarkable. Exercisers increased their spine extensor strength 70%. The amazing thing? After 10 years of not performing this exercise, the exercisers lost only 16% of their strength. The non-exercisers? They lost 27% of their strength. Isn’t that amazing? That the exercisers were able to retain so much strength after they stopped. So many people tell me after they’ve been sick that they feel that they’ve lost everything they’ve been working on. How wrong could they possibly be? You might be sick for a week or even a month and that doens’t even remotely compare to not exercising for 10 years. And these women only lost 16% of their strength! Remarkable.

Tags: Bone quality, Decrease fracture risk, increase strength, karena thek lineback, Mayo Clinic Study, osteoporosis, pilates, spine extensor strength
Posted in For Fitness Fanatics, For Professionals, Heal Your Back Pain, Osteoporosis | 3 Comments »

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Links

Posts Tagged ‘osteoporosis’

“So What If I Die Out of Shape?”

Calcium Supplements Raise Heart Attack Risk 31%

Exercises for Better Balance

1. All Four’s Balance.

Here’s how it’s done.

2. Standing Balance.

Top 4 Posts of 2009

1. Are Your Sit-ups Making you Fatter?

2. Osteoporosis: Bone Quality vs. Bone Quantity

3. Inspiring Cancer Patient: Photos

4. Better than Sit-ups.

Osteoporosis: Bone Quantity v. Bone Quality