Health & Medical Yoga

The Many Benefits Of Yoga Therapy For Osteoporosis

According to the latest statistics from health care professionals, osteoporosis affects more than 200 million people worldwide.
A chronic condition where a person's bones gradually become weaker over time, it can lead to various types of fractures, most of which occur in hips and legs.
For those who have these fractures, many times it is the beginning of a slow decline that never improves.
However, there are many health experts who agree that yoga therapy for osteoporosis can provide a workout that is easy to do and does much to help strengthen a person's bones.
As more people turn to yoga for increased health and fitness, those suffering from osteoporosis have also found it to have many benefits for them in their daily lives.
Yoga therapy not only keeps the condition from getting worse, but in many cases actually strengthens the bones.
With its many varied positions, yoga has been shown to be able to twist, elongate or compress bones in such a manner as to increase their bone mass, which helps to strengthen them.
While many people used to believe yoga only helped the muscles, the latest findings indicate yoga therapy stresses the bones enough to make them stronger, but no so much that they are damaged in any way.
Doctors believe yoga increases bone density and mass by stretching and stressing bones from a variety of angles.
This results in the bones being stressed to the point of growing, but not being injured in the process.
In years past, it was thought yoga and similar exercises were too dangerous for a patient to undertake, but today it's looked at as posing little if any risk to a person with the condition.
However, it should be noted that for yoga therapy to be a success, the various postures should be done with the proper alignment to allow the full benefits of them to be realized.
Some of the most debilitating problems with osteoporosis involve a person's back.
People with the condition are usually seen having difficulty walking due to being stooped forward from where their bones have become too weak.
However, yoga therapy for osteoporosis has been shown to alleviate back problems in those who have the condition by helping to strengthen the spine, shoulders, chest and other parts of a person's midsection.
By using yoga techniques that pay close attention to lifting up the chest, it's possible to avoid both the short-term and long-term difficulties that go along with osteoporosis.
Most people who participate in yoga therapy to help with their osteoporosis are age 65 or over and suffer with debilitating problems associated with their condition.
Because of this, most classes emphasize working on getting the sockets of various joints to more easily realign after being stressed.
Yoga therapists agree that joints which are better aligned and slip back into sockets more easily have far less risk of breaking or fracturing while performing simple household tasks as putting away groceries or cleaning.
Though there are still critics who scoff at the idea of yoga being able to help a person's osteoporosis, there is far more evidence to support the belief it is a very useful treatment option.
For those around age 65 who still wish to be active, yoga therapy has proven itself to be a viable option.


Leave a reply