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21/Jun/2023

We all know regular exercise is essential for good health. It can improve the fitness of your heart and lungs, sleep quality, energy levels and mental wellbeing. And it can reduce your risk of developing conditions such as diabetes.

Exercise is also vital for the health of your bones.

Like muscle, bone is living tissue that responds to exercise by becoming stronger. People who exercise regularly have stronger bones and higher bone density than those who don’t. This reduces the risk of developing osteoporosis.

Exercise also increases your balance, coordination and flexibility, which improves your ability to prevent trips and falls. DYK, falls are Australia’s largest contributor to injuries that require a stay in hospital and are a leading cause of injury deaths? More than half of the hospitalisations were due to broken bones (fractures).(1)

Bones need exercise.

To understand why exercise is important for bone health, it helps to know how bones work.

Throughout your life, your bones are constantly changing. This is called ‘remodelling’. Bone cells called osteoblasts build new bone, while other bone cells (osteoclasts) break down and remove old bone. This process is controlled by hormones such as calcitonin, parathyroid hormone, oestrogen (in women), testosterone (in men), and vitamin D.

From birth to about 25, you build more bone than you lose. Your bones are not only getting bigger as you grow, but they’re also developing their density. This determines how strong they are.

From about 25 to 50, your bones break down and rebuild at about the same rate. They’re in a state of balance. This is when you’ve achieved your ‘peak bone mass’. Your bones are at their strongest.

After about 50, you break down more bone than you rebuild. While this means everyone will experience some bone loss as they age, it doesn’t mean everyone will develop osteoporosis.

Women commonly experience a period of rapid bone loss after menopause. This is due to a drop in oestrogen levels. It’s estimated that the average woman loses up to 10% of her bone mass in the first five years after menopause.(2)

For good bone health, exercise is vital for everyone – from the very young to the very old.

A combination of different exercises is best for bone health.

Different exercises challenge and strengthen your bones and muscles in different ways, so you should include the following in your exercise plan:

Weight-bearing exercises or activities where your body carries its own weight. These exercises put stress on your bones, making them stronger and denser. It also strengthens the muscles around your bones, providing support and reducing the risk of fractures. Weight-bearing exercises include brisk walking, climbing stairs, tennis, and netball.

High-impact exercises such as jogging, running, jumping, and skipping rope. They’re also weight-bearing exercises, but they place greater stress on the bones of the spine and legs as your feet hit the ground. This can provide more bone-strengthening benefits; however, these exercises aren’t suitable for everyone.

Resistance training, also known as strength training, uses resistance or weights to strengthen your muscles by working them harder than you do in everyday life. The strong muscle contractions required to move a heavy weight place stress on the bone where the muscle attaches. When bone feels this strain repeatedly, it responds by becoming stronger. Resistance training uses equipment like free weights (e.g. dumbbells), gym machines, elastic resistance bands or your body weight (e.g. push-ups, squats).

Balance and flexibility exercises such as tai chi and yoga improve balance and mobility and can reduce your risk of falling. This is important for preventing fractures.

Before beginning an exercise program, speak with your health professional. Not all types of exercise are suitable for everyone. This is especially important if you have other health conditions, including osteoporosis. A physiotherapist or exercise physiologist can assist you with a safe exercise program that targets your specific needs and reduces your risk of injury.

Exercise must be regular and ongoing.

You need to exercise regularly to have a significant benefit, so you should choose activities you enjoy. This will make it easier to exercise consistently.

Australian physical activity and exercise guidelines recommend that all adults be active most days, preferably every day, for 30 minutes or more. This includes at least two sessions of strength training every week. However, when you’re just beginning, this can seem daunting.

That’s why it’s good to know you don’t have to do all your exercise in one session. For example, a 30-minute brisk walk can be broken up across your day into shorter, more achievable sessions, such as three 10-minute or six 5-minute walks.

You can do other things to make exercise a regular, ongoing activity.

Exercise with a group or a partner. This can improve your motivation to exercise and provides an opportunity for socialising with others.

Exercise SMART and set goals. A clear goal can motivate you to stay on track with your exercise program. But they must be realistic and specific to your abilities, needs, and health issuehttps://muscha.org/goals/s. So, ensure your goal is SMARTSpecific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and has a Timeframe.

For example, a good SMART goal for resistance training for stronger bones and muscles could be: “I will perform resistance exercises, such as lifting weights or using resistance bands, for 30 minutes, twice a week, for the next three months.”

This goal is Specific (focuses on resistance training), Measurable (30 minutes, twice a week), Achievable (realistic for most people), Relevant (aimed at improving bone and muscle strength), and has a Timeframe (three months).

Constantly evaluate your goals, adjust them as needed and reward yourself for your successes.

Add variety. Vary where you exercise and the type of exercise you do. Include recreational activities such as bushwalking or dancing. This will help keep your mind fresh and your motivation high. Find activities that are enjoyable to you so that you’ll be motivated to continue doing them.

Exercise within your capabilities. Often, people drop out of exercise programs because they exercise at a level beyond their current capabilities. Ensuring your exercise program suits your current abilities will decrease your risk of injury and increase your enjoyment and motivation to continue your exercise program.

Challenge yourself. Increase the intensity of your exercise as your fitness improves. It’ll make your exercise more interesting and also has greater health benefits.

Stop if you have pain. Don’t continue exercising if you experience pain or severe discomfort. Talk with your fitness professional for advice to ensure you’re not doing an exercise incorrectly.

Bone health doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

As well as exercise, you need to also to eat a nutritious diet with calcium-rich foods, get sufficient sun exposure for vitamin D, take medicines or supplements as prescribed by your doctor, quit smoking, and moderate your use of alcohol, caffeine, and salt intake, as they can impact bone density.

Contact our free national Help Line

Call our nurses if you have questions about managing your painmusculoskeletal condition, treatment options, mental health issuestelehealth, or accessing services. They’re available weekdays between 9am-5pm on 1800 263 265; email (helpline@msk.org.au) or via Messenger.

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References

(1) Falls. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
(2) Osteoporosis, Australasian Menopause Society


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03/Dec/2020

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” Anne Lamott

There’s no denying that going digital has helped most of us this year. As our worlds became smaller due to iso and lockdowns, technology enabled us to work and learn from home, meet with colleagues via Zoom, binge EVERYTHING on our streaming service, video chat with the friends and family we couldn’t see in person, travel virtually to the Louvre, listen to podcasts while we walked endlessly around our neighbourhoods and shop online (So. Much. Shopping).

But I think many of us are feeling the effects of too much of a good thing. It may be time for a digital detox. And as we come to the end of a very stressful and trying year, now’s the perfect time.

Why detox?

Our devices and being connected to the wider world are part of everyday life. But the constant pings, dings, beeps and notifications can get in the way of our being present in the moment. When we’ve got our heads down over the phone, scrolling through emails and social media, we miss out on so much. The world around us, conversations with loved ones, delicious meals – all the things that make our lives so rich and colourful.

This constant connectivity can be stressful. The 24/7 news cycle is frequently filled with sensationalised and grim stories. Our feeds are full of posts from people whose lives appear to be perfect – making us hyper-critical of our own lives. And we often feel pressured to respond quickly to work emails, texts and other contacts.

This constant barrage leaves little room for quiet reflection and time out. It can also affect the quality and quantity of our sleep.

So taking time to disconnect from the digital world can be a good idea every now and again. But how do you go about it?

Your digital detox plan

There are lots of books – and somewhat ironically – websites, apps and podcasts – to help you detox. But you might want to start by keeping it simple, realistic and achievable for you.

Think about how often you use your devices – all of them. Our phones are the one that we tend to blame the most – they’re with us all the time and we can do so much with them. But TVs, computers, gaming consoles, tablets, watches – we spend a lot of time on them too. How do you use these devices? Are you using them for work, connecting with family/friends, playing games, or just passing time? Only you can tell if you’re using them in a way that’s stressful or unhealthy.

So ask yourself:

  • Do I feel anxious when I don’t have my phone with me?
  • Do I miss parts of conversations because I’m checking my phone? Do I have to ask people to repeat themselves?
  • Are the things I’m scrolling through and reading enriching my life or bringing me joy?
  • Do I feel compelled to check my apps, socials or emails before I get out of bed? Or before I turn the light off at night?
  • Do I find myself looking at an empty plate and wondering where my dinner went?
  • Do I feel like I’ll miss out on things if I don’t keep checking in?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, maybe a detox is just what you need.

Be realistic. Some people are able to put their phones and devices away for a month, with little impact on their work and home life. While others need to be connected to some degree most days.

So think about what’s realistic for you:

  • If you need to be connected for work, set boundaries on when you’ll respond to work emails and chats – preferably during your usual working hours. Then turn off or ignore any notifications until your next working day.
  • If you love being connected via your socials, that’s great. But again, think about setting limits. Avoid constantly checking your phone, or picking it up every time you hear a notification. Set yourself times when you’ll look, and then put your phone aside.
  • Consider picking one day a week that you’ll go completely device free. Plan to do this with other members of your household or friends and use that day to have an adventure together – go to the zoo, hike in the hills, go on a scavenger hunt, hit the beach, play a round of golf or mini golf. Do something that doesn’t involve technology.
  • Limit your time on a specific app, site, game that really drains your time. For me that’s Pinterest. Wow, what a rabbit hole! You can lose hours there! So I make the conscious decision to only access it for a set amount of time – enough to make me feel connected, and not deprived of something I enjoy. And it still leaves time for other activities.

Create work/life balance. With many people still working from home, having good work/life balance, and clear boundaries is more important than ever. So unless you’re working on something pressing or urgent, only look at your work stuff during work hours. You owe it to yourself and your family to have some downtime. You’ll be much happier for it.

Lose the distractions. And speaking of work, do you also find yourself distracted by apps when you should be working? (Asking for a friend). It’s amazing how much time you can waste when one of your apps decides to show you yet another cute cat/dog/llama video. And how much more productive you can be when you disconnect from these apps during work hours. So if you’re finding it all too distracting, turn off the notifications for any non-essentials.

Don’t look at your phone when you’re doing other things. So many people, myself included, walk the streets with their attention focused on their phone. While this is a great way to get hurt – walking into poles, tripping up curbs, falling into ponds – it also means you’re not seeing what’s going on around you. After the year we’ve had, noticing all of the incredible things around us – even in our own backyard – can bring a lot of calm and happiness. So put your phone in your pocket or bag and take a look around you. If you’re walking with other people, talk with them, and really listen to what they’re saying. It’s amazing how much you hear when you’re not distracted.

Make meal times sacred. Even if you’re eating on your own, put your phone or device aside, and turn the TV off. We tend to eat so mindlessly when we’re distracted by other things. And when you’re not paying attention, how can you enjoy your meal? Or those around you? So make these times digital-free, enjoy the food you’ve prepared, reflect on your day, and enjoy this small oasis of time.

Tips to help you detox

Detoxing from our devices can be really tough. They’ve become such an important part of our lives. So we’ve come up with some tips to help you:

  • Leave your phone in one central place at home, rather than carrying it with you from room to room. This’ll prevent it distracting you and constantly interrupting your day/evening.
  • Make your bedroom a tech-free zone. Charge your phone in another room. If you use your phone as an alarm, turn up the volume (the rest of the household will love that) or buy a small alarm clock.
  • Turn off push notifications. They’re the automated messages and pop-ups that alert you when an app wants your attention – usually for nothing particularly important. So turn them off. Or just turn off the alerts from apps you don’t care about. If you don’t know how to turn them off, go online and search ‘turn off push notifications’ and your phone type, and you’ll find video and tutorials galore to help you.
  • Turn on airplane mode. Basically this will turn off access to your mobile network, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, so you can’t send or receive calls, texts or emails, access the internet or socials. It stops all the distractions coming in.
  • Leave your phone in your pocket or bag when in meetings or when you’re having a meal out.
  • Get your family and friends involved. Tell them what you’re doing and why. At the very least they’ll know why you may not get back to their messages immediately.
  • Don’t take your phone to the loo … Eeew!! Apart from the whole gross, unhygienic aspect – do you really want people to hear what you’re doing? And this, the most basic thing we do every day, surely deserves some alone time?
  • Use one device at a time. Do you have the TV on while you’re playing a game on your tablet, or flicking through socials on your phone? Choose one device and turn the other off. You can only focus on one at a time anyway.

However you choose to take a break from our digital world it’s a valuable thing to do. Particularly after the year 2020 has been, and the heavy reliance on all things tech.

So use the winding down of this crazy year to pause, disconnect from your devices, and reconnect with the things that are most important to you.

“Life is what happens between Wi-Fi signals”. Unknown

Call our Help Line

If you have questions about things like managing your pain, your musculoskeletal condition, treatment options, COVID-19, telehealth, or accessing services be sure to call our nurses. They’re available weekdays between 9am-5pm on 1800 263 265; email (helpline@msk.org.au) or via Messenger.

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Musculoskeletal Health Australia (or MHA) is the consumer organisation working with, and advocating on behalf of, people with arthritis, osteoporosis, back pain, gout and over 150 other musculoskeletal conditions.

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