Have you ever heard of Osteoporosis? Are you someone who suffers from extreme back pain as a result of a previous injury? Noticing a loss of height over time? A stooped posture, perhaps? Or, are you noticing that your bones are fragile and prone to fracturing? All of these are symptoms of Osteoporosis and it affects both men and women.
WHAT IS OSTEOPOROSIS?
Osteoporosis occurs when our bones lose minerals such as Calcium at a faster rate than the human body can replace them, causing a loss of bone thickness. This disease makes our bones become brittle, here’s how you can protect your bones with exercise:
IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:
Exercising with Osteoporosis can reduce the risk of falls as a small fall can turn out to be a fracture or broken bone due to the lack of strength in the bone. Falls are commonly caused by:
Regular physical activity and exercise can play a huge role in maintaining, supporting and improving bone density. Exercise is also proven to increase the size, strength and capacity of our surrounding muscles around our bones. You can promote this by actively participating in regular exercise, thus proving to be a huge benefit in sustaining strong bones. We hear you, how can our bones be stronger by adding stress with exercise? It’s simple, our bones become stronger when we put a certain amount of impact or extra strain on them, we’re keeping it simple for you and listing the specific exercises we recommend being better for your bones:
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I PARTICIPATE IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY?
We strongly advise participating in exercise at least 3 times per week, whilst incorporating an exercise routine into your life. It is recommended to increase intensity over time and not straight away. This goes for the amount of weight used, degree of exercise difficulty, we may think that our bones and muscles can adapt, however, slow progress is long term progress and without the risk of injury or imbalances occurring.
If you feel as though you, or someone you love would benefit from a customised exercise physiology program, contact our practice for more information on how our highly experienced staff can assist in managing Osteoporosis.
At Progressive Sports and Spinal Physiotherapy Penrith, we are able to assess, treat, educate and manage all musculoskeletal injuries. We focus on hands-on treatment, exercise prescription and self management techniques tailored to your specific needs. We utilise evidence based treatments to maximise your outcomes.
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Elin, is an alumni of St. Edward’s University and holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, furthered her academic journey by attaining a Doctor of Physiotherapy from Macquarie University in 2022.
Her passion for sports, particularly football (soccer), is evident in both her academic pursuits and personal endeavors. Specialising in the comprehensive well-being of athletes, Elin focuses on restoring them to peak performance while actively preventing future injuries.
Elin’s professional expertise is centered on musculoskeletal rehabilitation, with a specific emphasis on addressing and preventing knee injuries. Her approach integrates expert treatment with a commitment to educating and empowering patients, fostering their active involvement in enhancing their health and overall quality of life.
As an active participant in NPL football with SD Raiders, Elin brings firsthand experience and a profound understanding of the sport’s demands. Beyond the field, she extends her influence by contributing sports coverage over the weekends.
Christopher (Chris) Han graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapy, and then completed the Doctor of Physiotherapy program at Macquarie University in 2018. Chris is currently undertaking his PhD at the University of Sydney and Institute for Musculoskeletal Health in the field of low back pain and is due to complete this in early 2024.
Chris is currently an assistant Physiotherapist for the NRL Referees. Chris has previous experience as the head Physiotherapist at Panthers Premier League Netball and a number of elite sporting athletes in the private setting.
Through Chris’ experiences, he has a particular interest in all areas of the body and musculoskeletal physiotherapy, sports, vestibular rehabilitation, and Men’s Health (pre and post prostate surgery).
Suzanne graduated from Western Sydney University with a Bachelor of Health Science (Sports and Exercise Science) in 2015. She then went on to continue her studies at Macquarie University graduating from the Doctor of Physiotherapy post-graduate degree in June 2019.
Since graduating, Suzanne has worked in the local Penrith area in both private practice and Sports Physiotherapy. Suzanne has worked with sporting teams including Penrith District Netball Association, Mt Druitt Rangers (NPL), Penrith Valley Figure Skating Club, and local dance and cheer schools.
Suzanne has a particular interest in working with artistic athletes including cheerleaders and dancers. She has a professional background in both cheer and dance and has previously worked as both a cheer coach and dance teacher. Suzanne’s previous experiences are an invaluable resource to her as a physiotherapist, as she has a thorough understanding of the level of physical fitness and skill acquisition that these athletes must have in order to be successful on stage and in competition.
Suzanne’s other areas of clinical interest reside in lower limb musculoskeletal injuries, spinal pathologies and women’s health.
Nathanial graduated as a physiotherapist in 2012 which saw him work in private practice and hospital settings gaining experience in all areas of physiotherapy including hand therapy, splinting/casting, pre/post-operative care, Men’s Health and general musculoskeletal, occupational and sports physiotherapy. Since then he has gone on to complete further studies in physiotherapy enabling him to be the only dual titled Musculoskeletal, Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist in Penrith.
Nathanial has a strong background in sports physiotherapy achieving accreditation with NSWIS as a service provider and working with many elite sports teams.
Nathanial has a particular interest in working with elite athletes, complex cases and in particular assessment and management of knee, hip and shoulder pain.
Andrea graduated from the Australian Catholic University completing her Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science in 2018 and Master’s of Clinical Exercise Physiology in 2020. After graduating she attained accreditation with ESSA as an Exercise Physiologist.
During her studies she gained clinical experience in both hospital and private practice settings, in cardiac rehabilitation, neurological conditions, cancer and chronic musculoskeletal injuries.
Since working at Progressive, Andrea has a specialist interest in treating musculoskeletal injuries, helping people in the mid-late stage of rehab to get them to return to sport or work. As well as helping people manage chronic conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and diabetes.