Exercise Physiology for Osteoporosis in Lidcombe: Safe and Effective Exercises to Build Stronger Bones
- shafayatbchowdhury
- Apr 29
- 8 min read
Osteoporosis is a condition where your bones become weaker and more fragile over time. It is often referred to as a “silent disease” because you won't feel symptoms until something serious - like a fracture - occurs.
If your GP has told you that you have osteopenia or osteoporosis following a bone density or DEXA scan, you might be worried about falls or making things worse.
Osteoporosis affects over a million Australians and the reality is - most Australians do not do the right type of exercise to strengthen their bones. At our clinic in Lidcombe, our Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs) use proven, safe and effective exercises to help people safely build stronger bones and confidence.
What is Osteoporosis? What are the most safe and effective exercises?
Osteoporosis is a disease where the amount and thickness of bone decreases with age causing them to become weak and brittle. The hips, spine and wrists are vulnerable areas that are commonly fractured in osteoporotic individuals who have a fall.
1 in 3 Australian women and 1 in 5 Australian men over the age of 50 will experience an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetime (Osteoporosis Australia, 2023).
These statistics may seem grim but it is important to highlight how common and how significant this disease is. The good news is that evidence has found that resistance training for osteoporosis significantly increases bone strength proving that we can exercise and make things better (Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2022).
The rate of bone loss accelerates with ageing and it is very important to implement exercise early as it does take consistent effort to slow the rate of bone loss and promote bone formation.
The sooner you establish healthy exercise habits - the sooner you can establish a higher bone mineral density baseline and functional capacity. A great way to show this concept is demonstrated in the figure below.
We can see that females are at higher risk of bone loss, particularly menopausal women and Exercise Physiology before this stage would be extremely beneficial to slow the progression of this loss.
The good news is that Exercise Physiology helps with Osteoporosis by strengthening the bones, incorporating falls prevention exercises and improving your overall wellbeing so you don't have to fear Osteoporosis - you simply need the right plan to manage it.
Risk Factors for Osteoporosis
As with everything, we can control some factors and some variables are simply out of our control. Your likelihood of developing osteoporosis is increased when you have more of the following key risk factors:
Non-Modifiable Risk Factors
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Modifiable Risk Factors
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What is Exercise Physiology for Osteoporosis?
Exercise Physiology for osteoporosis is simply about focusing on the right type and frequency of exercises to build stronger bones and reduce the risk of fractures.
Exercise Physiologists use their deep understanding about the body—like how our bones, muscles, and joints work —to design safe, effective exercise programs.
These Osteoporosis exercise programs are specifically tailored for people with low bone density or those at risk of developing osteoporosis, helping to prevent, manage, or slow Osteoporosis from progressing.
While general fitness instructors and activity is great for maintaining overall health, Exercise Physiology for osteoporosis goes much deeper - specific exercises, supervised progressive loading and result tracking for stronger bone health.
Everyone has unique needs and personalised, medically-informed Exercise plans are the most effective non drug treatment to remodel bone.
How Exercise Physiology helps with Osteoporosis
We know for certain that bone requires regular dynamic loading to stimulate change and the truth is that walking alone does very little to stimulate bone remodelling.
Research has proven (Healthy Bones Australia) that loading our bones must exceed our habitual exposure to induce positive changes. If you think that I can “just go for a walk” is enough to build strong bones, sadly you are mistaken.
When we put together any tailored Osteoporosis exercise program for a client - we ensure that the four most important Types of Exercise for Osteoporosis are included.
Type 1 - Progressive Resistance Training
The most effective non drug treatment for Osteoporosis is combining progressive resistance training with impact loading.
Bone adapts to the stress placed upon it. This is why moderate to high intensity resistance training (ie less than 8 reps) will not only stimulate bone forming cells, known as Osteoblasts but also protect and stabilise the skeletal system.
We love exercises like leg press, goblet/barbell squats and hip thrusts in our Exercise programs for Osteoporosis to target the hips and spine.
We will supervise the use of both free and machine weighted equipment to ensure our clients are exercising safely and with correct lifting techniques to prevent injuries, especially in individuals with very low spine BMD and or history of vertebral fractures.
Clients with this kind of history may require lighter loads at higher repetitions with controlled movements to achieve positive outcomes.
We will typically prescribe 2-3 days of progressive resistance training for osteoporosis with 2-3 sets of 5-8 repetitions at 75-85% of 1RM per week. Exercises like squats, Romanian deadlifts, seated rows and back extensions are a great way to load both the hip and spine.
Pillar 2 - Weight Bearing (WB) impact Exercise
Impact WB exercises such as jump landing, skipping, hopping and loaded step ups are effective activities for osteogenesis.
Combining these WB impact exercises with progressive resistance training provides a greater bone building effect than doing one type of exercise only.
So we will get clients to perform at least 3 days per week of 50 impact repetitions at least double that of the body weight to significantly increase BMD and improve DEXA results. Rather than completing these exercises as a separate session, we programme them between resistance exercises eg 3 sets of box jumps for a realistic plan that can be adhered to.
Pillar 3 - Falls Prevention Exercises
We know that any great Osteoporosis exercise program will include challenging balance activities and so we prescribe 3 hours per week of balance training to target proprioception and help reduce falls risk.
We find that the most rewarding results come when our clients improve their confidence in day to day activities like climbing the stairs. Research by Exercise & Sports Science Australia showed how AEP-guided programs reduced falls by 23% and improved quality of life outcomes in older adults with osteoporosis.
Pillar 4 - WB cardio
We strongly believe that WB cardio should never be the primary intervention for Osteoporosis — walking alone will not create meaningful change to bone because we know that bone only adapts when loading exceeds habitual exposure.
We include WB cardio like stair climbing, dancing or hiking to support overall function, dynamic balance, and maintain a bone-loading habit on the days between strength sessions.
A realistic time frame to make meaningful changes to BMD is a minimum of 8 months of consistent good quality effort and training. People who give up too early unfortunately take a huge gamble on their health and are at high risk of fractures if they sustain a fall, which occurs due to a loss of power with ageing - We lose strength and speed - our muscles declining in mass by about 1–2% every year after age 50!
Our Osteoporosis Program at Stay Active Longer
Before our AEPs create your individualised Osteoporosis Exercise Program, they will first perform a 45 minute initial assessment. During this initial appointment, we review your bone health history, risk factors, co-morbidities, any DEXA scan results and determine your current functional capacity by measuring your strength and endurance in various tests.
Following this, we will prescribe exercises that are safe and effective for improving bone strength and create an Osteoporosis Exercise Program that incorporates all 4 pillars of exercise for Osteoporosis and completely tailored to you. We monitor your progress and adjust your exercise program as required for optimal results. This may involve progressing or regressing exercises based on your performance and symptoms.
All supervised sessions will be conducted within the Dooley's Health and Fitness Gym - home to high end free and machine weighted equipment and we will show you how to load your structures with proper techniques, providing you with education and strategies to ensure your bones are remodelling and getting stronger.
As a result of our Osteoporosis exercise programs, clients will be able to:
✅ Build Bone Strength
✅ Improve Balance and Coordination
✅ Reduce Pain and Stiffness
✅ Enhances Muscle Strength
EPC/Chronic Disease Management Plans are accepted and can be obtained by your GP for Medicare subsidisation of session fees. Your Exercise Physiologist will forward a report to your GP outlining your progress and results.
Our Recommendations
If you are a pre/post menopausal woman or have recently been diagnosed with Osteoporosis/Osteopenia, you must start building healthier bones by booking in an initial appointment with an Exercise Physiologist who is trained in Osteoporosis management, especially if you feel anxious about exercising.
It takes a minimum of 8 months to see meaningful changes in DEXA scans which is why you want to ensure you are investing in the right strategies to build strong bones and prevent fractures.
Exercising at home is great - however unless you have a decent home gym set up, you are limited in how much loading capacity you can expose your tissues to. This is why signing up to a Gym is very important.
If you have not been diagnosed with Osteoporosis, it is imperative that you do the right type of exercises to prevent it - the sooner you do the better - incorporate a combination of progressive resistance training, impact and balance exercises as well as WB cardio to stimulate bone growth.
Exercise is one of the most powerful non drug treatments for managing Osteoporosis and preserving independence, so utilise it!
Aim for ~ 4–5 days of structured activity per week.
A realistic structure might look like:
3x Resistance sessions that also incorporate impact activities
1–2 additional days of WB cardio or dedicated balance/functional work
Osteoporosis does not cause pain and so it is often not considered a priority for most people. Unfortunately most people wait until their bones have become so weak that they fracture their hips, spine or wrists when they fall. I urge my readers to start young, start early and do not delay lifting weights. There is irrefutable research that proves how lifting weights is one of the best ways to build stronger bones. If you are not sure where to start or worried about safety, please consult an Exercise Physiologist. Your body is an asset worth investing in.
I have included a sample Exercise Program for Osteoporosis below. Please note this program does not take into account your individual health factors so please consult a Health Professional for guidance to ensure you are exercising safely.
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