walking and osteoporosis

Question
Is walking a good exercise for osteoporosis in older people?

Answer
Hi Mike! It's Lanny. Yes, walking is good for senior citizens with osteoporosis especially if they are new to exercise. Improvements in done density are directly related to the impact and weight bearing nature of the activity. The more impact the greater improvements.

Obviously with most senior citizens walking is a good place to start as it has some impact and is weight bearing. Go from easy walking to more brisk walking as the faster waking has more impact. If you have seniors who are in good shape having them do a few jumping exercises or a little light jogging gives greater impact. Finally, resistance training has shown to be very effective in maintaining done density for all ages... Have a great day!...Lanny Schaffer...Exercise Physiologist/Personal Trainer... The International Fitness [email protected]