*Osteoporosis and PT

OSTEOPOROSIS

Osteoporosis or osteopenia is a thinning of bone caused by your body not building enough bone or breaking too much down. When this happens your bones break more easily. This condition affects more than 25 million Americans of both sexes and includes men and children. Women, however are hit the hardest with one-third of all women over 50 suffering a broken bone because of bone thinning.  The most common fracture areas are the spine, hip, and wrist.  Fractures are difficult for anyone but are especially devastating for the elderly who are more at risk of falling and ending up needing nursing home care. 

Physical Therapy can help by establishing an exercise program to stimulate your body to build bone safely.  A PT can also help with modifications to movements and improvements to balance to make fractures less likely. 

Conservative Physical Therapy Management of osteoporosis may include: 

• Modalities: such as heat and ice
• Manual Therapy:  “hands on” treatment to improve pain and restore function and movement. 
• Mobilization and Manipulation:  movement of a joint to improve pain and restore functional movement.
• Therapeutic Exercise:  specific exercise to improve pain and restore functional movement.  It is important with osteoporosis to avoid certain positions and progress slowly.
• Functional Movement Training:  exercises to improve posture and movement.
• Biofeedback:  a way of using a computer or other device to “see” and improve body functions such as muscle activity or indicators of stress.   
• Electrical Stimulation or TENS:  used to help improve pain, inflammation, muscle spasm, muscle function, and circulation.

Physical Therapists are specialists in restoring movement and function related to muscle, bone, or joint dysfunction.  They often work to improve pain and disability.  To learn more about PT or find one in your area, check out a consumer oriented site on PT here   or the main site of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) here.

Here is a slideshow on diet and exercise for osteoporosis.

*Links are given to provide a general overview of a topic and not intended to suggest complete or authoritative information on a particular subject.  The information provided is always subject to change.*