Is Impact Training REALLY Safe for Osteoporosis??

I am 63 years old - 64 in August. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis in the spine and osteopenia in my hips in September 2022. I did my research and put together a programme with which my GP agreed. I take Raw Calcium by Garden of Life, I started with a personal trainer twice a week, I jump 20 times with 30 second intervals on one day and do 40 heel drops 3 times a day on the next day. I do this 7 days a week. I also exercise on other days according to how I feel - this includes hiking for about an hour, interval training (Jo Wicks, The Bodycoach), spinning, yoga - both therapeutic or fierce - rebounding etc. I exercise 2 or 3 days in a row and then have a day off. My Dexa scan a year later showed that I had built back bone density in my spine and right hip by 2% but had lost bone density in my left hip. Not sure why that is. Perhaps my right leg is longer than my left and not getting as much impact? Perhaps I always lead with my right leg? Anyway, I have decided to start jumping/hopping on my left leg to see if this makes a difference. But essentially it’s going in the right direction.

I would appreciate more videos pertaining to post menopausal women. The bulk of the emphasis appears to be on perimenopausal women, which is great, but it leaves an entire generation of vibrant women lost.

Hands up if you wish you’d jumped more in your youth 🙋‍♀️

Hi! Just got an early diagnosis of osteopenia in both hips. I am a 67 year old woman with a 42 year career of high intensity aerobics, weightlifting, resistance training and started running 27 years ago. Had a very physical job in my working years…weight and cholesterol are spot on. I am of Norwegian descent(Mom was full blooded) so hereditary no doubt is a major player here….she always said the family has trouble with their hips. I have no symptoms…was discovered in a bone density scan which two years ago showed nothing. Vitamins etc…are all in order. What happened? Disappointed that this still showed up…guess you never know. Doctor has upped my Vit D intake for now….have eaten dairy products all my life(dairy farm born ,raised and married into.)Hopefully this jump in Vit D intake will stall/ reverse this condition. Have checked all the boxes for good bone health…what did I miss? 😊

I added a weight vest to my daily walk. I purchased an adjustable weight vest. I started at 20 pounds and now I walk with 30 pounds. I also do jumps during my walk. Thanks for this great data, Dr. Doug!

I do heel drops, feet stomping and jumping on ground which i learnt earlier from Glory B's video. As I am still in late 40s and still can do it, i thought it's best to start now. I also jump off a higher platform of about 1.5 feet, landing squarely on the ground with knees bent, after learning that from you. I only am able to do it 3 times a week since my last bloodwork in Oct 2023 where i saw bad results on my CTX and P1NP. I recently did another bloodwork in June 2024, so am waiting to see if all these impact exercises (plus lifting weights) helped improve these two markers. As CTX is terribly expensive, this round I did the NTX test via urine, which I learnt from u. Hope I see good results dr!

I am 59, supposedly have very low bone density, and love jumping exercises--they're my favorite. I do various types of jump squats mainly (reg, star, ankle clap, knee tuck, etc). I do heel drops sometimes too, as I actually get more impact from heel drops as I land lighter with the jumps. The jumps feel like they work my muscles better. Alternating jump lunges are more challenging for my knees so I rarely do them. I don't jump onto or off boxes because I just don't want to risk catching my toes in the way up and hurting myself, and don't see a lot of point in jumpingndown from something I wouldn't jump up on. I do like to jump as high as I can with the squat jumps though.

Thank you, another very formative video

How about Stomping?? I recently saw a post with a woman 60-70yrs demonstrating what she does for her bones. She held onto the back of a chair and stomped her foot! And did the other foot. There was no jumping, just lifting her leg and giving a decent stomp! She probably commented or demonstrated alternating feet like going up stairs. Do you think that would give enough impact to help??

I have read that the heel drops are more beneficial for the spine. I have OP in my left hip. Should I still consider heel drops for building bone in my hip? I am 63 and workout 3 days a week doing resistance exercises and walk 20 miles a week.

Skipping? I was hoping Dr. Doug would talk about skipping in this video. Please do a video about skipping for bone health thanks!

I messed up my knees REALLY, REALLY, REALLY bad, in February, trying to jump off my porch to build bone strength. I'm still recovering. I want to do muscle training and keep my legs strong but my knees are still messed up and the more I use them the slower my recovery is.

Well I a man, have been jogging for over a period of 20 Years.-I stll got Osteporosis at age 58 .nn I think jogging is similar to skipping in as much of landing impact on the feet.

I vary what I do and I'm very careful with these moves until I can have a REMS scan and better assess my bone strength. I do heel drops, stomping, small hops, jumping squats and I had stumbled on a video at some point that mentioned that the femoral neck tends to respond to different types of movements from sports such as soccer. I'm not playing soccer btw! Those moves to me seems as if they would cause lateral impact on the femoral neck. So instead of doing regular step ups, I do lateral step ups with a bit of a stomp thrown in. Is it all doing anything? I've got absolutely no clue yet. Time will tell. I've also started to wonder if doing overcoming isometrics would put enough strain to also simulate impact.

So is it bad to jump and down up on a step, in the gym, at 66 years, with osteoporosis?

I swim with big fins that cause a resistance. I swim at least 3 to 4 times a week for an hour without stopping, I also go to the deep end and stand up bicycling in place like and my arms like I am on a elliptical bike. I bunny jump in the morning a bit when I’m in the kitchen making coffee on my tile floor. I have those resistance bands, but I don’t use them as much as I should. I am 66.

Right now I have bone spurs in my feet! So I have bought new shoes And trying to get advice what foods and vitamins/ supplements I should take and to receive advice about how much and what to take is really a challenge for me! My fractured knee is giving me / my feet with full of bone spurs is a concern for me

At 71, I do some strength exercises and 30 heel drops on a daily basis. I has occurred to me, however, that I might need to be careful with impact as I had a left hip replacement 5 years ago due to a break after a fall. The replacement was great and I went back to treating my hip as if it was original. This might not be ideal, as I have now worn the cartilage out of my right hip. I don't want to loosen the prosthetic.

Do you take a multiple vitamin to get vitamin C, etc ?

How about jumping on the trampoline? I try to jump about 1000 times per day but my back is hurting afterwards. So I jump and walk on heels combination on it.