Innovative Isometric Exercises Help Prevent and Treat Osteoporosis - By: NancyS

Isometric exercises strengthen, tone, and help nourish your body.

Ever notice what happens when you don't exercise? Your muscles shrink, skin gets that flabby look, and you feel sluggish.

If you could take a "fantastic voyage" inside yourself, you would see your bones becoming more brittle and fragile too.

Unlike machines like your car that decline with use, your muscles, bones, and joints grow stronger with moderate use. One of the most serious results of lack of exercise is osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a preventable disease where your bones become fragile.

It sneaks up on you, progressing painlessly until a bone breaks. This can lead to falls, surgery, and a whole host of potentially deadly complications as well as chronic pain.

In serious cases, something as simple as a sneeze can cause them to break, reports the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

About 10 million Americans already have osteoporosis with
another 34 million at risk.

About one in two women older than 50 and one in four men will
break a bone because of this disease.

Your bones are much more than hard sticks that hold up your body.

They're living tissue that is constantly breaking down and rebuilding itself. To stay alive and do their work, bones need minerals like calcium and magnesium, and vitamins like vitamin D. Plus, they need physical activity to help take in minerals.

Putting force on bones through weight bearing and weight resistance exercises sets up a mini electrical current in the bone. This current termed the "piezoelectric effect" draws calcium, magnesium, and other minerals needed for bone density and strength, reports Christiane Northup, MD in Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom.

You probably already know that exercise is good for you, so what's stopping you?

Time?

Money?

Pain?

Don't like to exercise?

Good news: I found an exercise tool that can help you overcome these obstacles, the OsteoBall Bonefitness Exerciser!

The OsteoBall makes isometric exercise doable, even for those who just plain don't like to exercise.

Developed by Robert Swezey, MD, a specialist in osteoporosis prevention and treatment as well as professor of medicine at UCLA Medical School, OsteoBall exercises are affordable, fast, easy, and pain free.

During isometric exercises, also called resistive or resistance exercises, the muscle contracts, but the joint doesn't move. These exercises involve pushing or pulling against something or using weights or bands.

OsteoBall instructions guide you through a 10-minute routine using an inflatable ball with a cloth cover that includes straps with loops on the end. These isometric exercises address all the key muscle groups.

The OsteoBall design continually adjusts itself to your strength level, thus decreasing the chance of injury. Because the joint doesn't move, even those with painful joints can usually do them.

The exercises are so simple you can even do them while watching TV.

Best of all, studies show that the OsteoBall exercises increase muscle strength and bone mineral density. Stronger muscles and bones not only make you look and feel better they help prevent osteoporosis, falls and related injuries.

I can personally testify as I've been using the OsteoBall for about 6-months now. I can honestly say I feel more invigorated now. I especially like the exercises that address the neck and arms. I've had weak arms as long as I can remember.

I'm still no body builder, but I'm stronger and have less flab!

Most of all, if cost, pain, or time prevents you from starting your exercise program, try OsteoBall or some other form of isometric exercises. They can help prevent and treat osteoporosis.

About the Author

Nancy S. Moore PhD, RN, is a nationally recognized health-advocate and author. Nancy invites you to discover more about isometric exercises and osteoporosis at Can Isometric Exercises Help Osteoporosis

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/NancyS/132006

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