September is National Yoga Month, and seeing as it’s right around the corner we felt it right to talk a little about how yoga can help improve your bone and spine health. Maintaining your bone health is vital, particularly as we age, and not doing so can mean the loss of bone density and, eventually, osteoporosis.
By the time we reach adulthood, 90% of our bone mineral content (calcium) has already been deposited into our bones. After this point, it’s nearly impossible to add a significant amount of calcium to our bones. The best we can do is to try to maintain the calcium available in our bones, which is possible through Vitamin D, hormones, and exercise. Though our bones cannot collect much more calcium, they can become stronger and grow in diameter.
Frequent exercise and even yoga can help strengthen your bones, your spine, and your muscles as well. Here are some more specifics on how yoga can help build your bone and spine health.
Yoga For Bone And Spine Health
Yoga does a lot for your bones and your spine, and one way it does so is by teaching you how to use your muscles to take pressure off your bones. For example, the practice of holding certain positions helps increase strength in certain muscles and muscle groups, such as your back and abdominal muscles. When these network of muscles are well-conditioned, they help the body maintain proper upright posture and movement, helping avoid or reduce back pain associated with spine health.
Furthermore, yoga for spine health offers a few unique qualities: flexibility in the joints, proper alignment, and help in maintaining the natural curvature of the spine. These qualities are attained through an increased sense of balance because unlike many other exercises, yoga strengthens both sides of the body equally. This provides proper body alignment and good posture.
More Information
Before you begin any kind of exercise to promote bone health, be sure to check on the current state of your bones and for any signs of osteoporosis. If you have already experienced some bone loss, or if you have low bone density (a precursor to osteoporosis) you may not be able to perform some movements (such as toe touches and sit-ups) as these may overexert your bones and cause small fractures. You may also want to check whether you fall under the risk factors for osteoporosis. To book an appointment for a bone density scan, contact you nearest BICRAD location today.