Recently a few new clients with the diagnosis of osteoporosis or osteopenia joined Moto. They all have some similarities: no regular exercise, over 50 years old, gave birth to one child or more. Therefore, this week I am going to explain more about this condition, and in what aspects Pilates or Gyrotonic can help.
Osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones become weak and brittle, making them more susceptible to fractures. It is more common in women, particularly after menopause, due to a decrease in estrogen levels. And if you have a medical condition such as arthritis, or if you took a 3-month long course of oral glucocorticoids, or if you are a smoker, you are more susceptible to osteoporosis. A bone density scan (DEXA) will usually be used for diagnosis. The procedure takes around 10-20 minutes, and different body parts will be examined. The most common body parts to be examined are your spine, hips and wrists. We usually look at T-scores to identify osteoporosis (this is the score comparing your bone density to a young adult). If it is at or below -2.5 SD, you are diagnosed with osteoporosis. You will then be either prescribed with daily or weekly oral medication or an injection every few months or annually.
Osteoporosis can have a significant impact on daily life, leading to chronic pain, decreased mobility, and an increased risk of fractures. However, you should not worry too much about breaking your bones too early, as some people who have osteoporosis never have any fractures in their lives! Breaking your bones or not also depends on how your daily posture is - whether you can keep sitting tall to avoid putting compressive forces on your vertebra (spinal bones), or whether you have good balance and proprioception that you do not fall even when walking or hiking on uneven surfaces, as most fractures come from a fall injury. So at this point, you can see that how Pilates and Gyrotonic exercises can be beneficial for individuals with osteoporosis: both exercise systems help to improve posture, decompress your spine, improve your balance and proprioception and reduce your fall risks.
Pilates and Gyrotonic are both known to be low-impact exercise and can be easily adapted to meet the needs of individuals with osteoporosis. It might not sound useful to osteoporotic clients when it is low-impact, but the jumping exercise with the jumping board on the reformer, effortlessly creates a safe environment to increase our bone density for clients with osteoporosis. This was safely achieved by simulating the jumping action- a high-impact movement- to replicate the dynamic loading in actual jumping to our bones. This was the secret of how we increase our bone mineral density in our pilates practice.
Furthermore, the grounding principle in Gyrotonic obviously allows us to activate our lower extremities. The suction feet, reaching our 5th line, push and pull principles and even the shivering exercise all allow us to actively recruit all our lower limb muscles and encourage our bones to “hit the ground”. The continuous practice not only gives us a free-moving body, but strong bones and full body decompression will also come along.
It is important to note that individuals with osteoporosis should always consult with a medical professional before beginning any exercise program. A qualified Pilates or Gyrotonic instructor can design a program that is tailored to the individual's needs and limitations. Come and try a Pilates or a Gyrotonic session, we guarantee that you will like the class! #bonehealth #osteoporosis #osteopenia #bonemineraldensity #exercisestrengthenbones 骨質疏鬆症 - 普拉提及嬋柔的好處 最近有幾位被診斷患有骨質疏鬆症或骨質減少症的新客來到Moto Studio，他們都有一些相同之處：
- 沒有運動習慣
- 50歲以上
- 曾經生產一個或多個孩子
今個星期，我們會了解多一些關於這些病症，及探討一下普拉提及嬋柔可以如何幫助他們。
骨質疏鬆症是一種骨骼變脆弱的疾病，患者容易得到骨折。女性患者比較多，尤其是停經之後，因為雌激素水平下降，骨骼容易變得脆弱。如果你患有關節炎等病症，或者曾服用三個月或以上的口服皮質類固醇，又或者是吸煙者，你會更加容易患上骨質疏鬆症。醫生會使用骨密度掃描（DEXA）去診斷骨質疏鬆症，過程只需要10至20分鐘，而且可以檢查不同的身體部位。最常檢查的身體部位是脊柱（下腰部分），髖關節和手腕。我們通常會查看T分數來識別骨質疏鬆症（這是將你骨密度的分數與年輕人進行比較），如果它等於或低於-2.5SD ，你就會被確診患有骨質疏鬆症。醫生會處方每日或每周口服藥物，或每隔幾個月或每年注射作為治療。
骨質疏鬆症會對日常生活產生重大影響，有可能導致慢性疼痛，活動能力下降，而且增加骨折風險。但是你不必太擔心，因為有些患有骨質疏鬆症的人，一生中從未發生過骨折！骨折與否取決於你日常姿態如何：例如保持坐直避免對椎骨（脊椎骨）施加壓力，或者你是否具有良好的平衡和本體感覺，這可以避免在不平坦的表面上行走或郊遊時也不會摔倒。因為大多數骨折，都來自跌倒引致。由此可見，普拉提及嬋柔對骨質疏鬆症患者有益無害，因兩種運動都不但可以改善姿勢，還可以減少脊柱壓力、改善平衡和增加本體感覺，以降低跌倒風險。我們可以使用跳板（Jumping board）結合在器械床（Reformer）上進行模擬跳躍運動（一種高衝擊力的運動），為骨質疏鬆症客戶，創造一個安全環境來增加骨質密度，複製真正跳躍帶給我們的好處。
除此之外，嬋柔中的Grounding Principle 幫助我們激活下肢。細緻的原理，例如Suction Feet , 延伸 5th Line，Push and Pull Principle 和 Shivering Excercise，全都動用到我們下肢的肌肉及刺激我們的骨骼。持續的練習不僅讓我們嘅身體活動自如，亦能保持我們骨骼健康，和替全身減壓。
最後記住留意，任何患上骨質疏鬆症的人在進行任何鍛煉計劃之前，應該諮詢醫療專業人員，或者合格的普拉提或嬋柔教練。他們可以設計適合你個人需求的運動計劃，和避免你做一些有可能引致骨折的動作。當然，我會鼓勵大家嘗試參加 Moto Studio 的課程，保證你們身、心、靈都會喜歡。
