Men & Osteoporosis

Exercise can help combat this age-related condition in men as well as in women

Thinning bones and dowager’s hump are stereotypical conditions faced by ageing women. According to the “Medical Alert” column called “Stronger Bones for Men” in today’s Parade magazine, two million American men already have the disease and another 12 million (mostly aged 50 and older) are at considered risk. Causes include:

Steroids taken to treat asthma or arthritis
Long-term use of antacids containing aluminum
Low levels of sex hormones
Too much thyroid hormone
Smoking
Too much alcohol
Lack of exercise (boldface type mine!)
Inadequate dietary calcium
Heredity

Parade‘s highly condensed articles leave no room for such details as explaining what constitutes “long term,” “low levels,” “too much” or “inadequate,” but the list does provide a starting point for looking into the subject. The piece by Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld implies that bone-strengthening exercise can combat osteoporosis, but because his first name is Doctor, it comes as no surprise to me that he doesn’t specifically mention it. Instead, he focuses on pharmaceutical solutions, writing, “Some but not all of the medications prescribed for osteoporosis in women also are effective in men. These include two of the pills that combat bone loss and a daily injection that builds bone density. If you think you may be at risk, ask your physician to evaluate you and discuss the best course of action.”

It is my understanding that of osteoporosis has already set in, an aggressive course of action including medication might be called for, but even then, common sense would seem to dictate including bone-strengthening exercise. And that’s where Nordic Walking comes in. So if brittle bones are a concern, perhaps because of a combination of risk factors from Dr. Rosenfeld’s list, pick up a pair of poles and start walking — or keep walking.