Weight-bearing Exercise with a Weight Vest for Osteopenia
Starting with fire-fighters, then moving to athletes, weight
vest training has become very popular. It has been well proven
over the last twenty years that weight-training adds strength to
the muscles and density to the bones.
Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D., who wrote, "Strong Women Stay Young,"
an excellent book, found that there were other benefits to
weight training as well. Women who completed her studies
restored bone, improved balance, controlled weight, toned their
bodies, improved flexibility and endurance. They also felt
better about themselves than they had in years.
The program recommended in Dr. Nelson's book required leg and
arm weights and could be done at home. The negative is that the
program requires effort and dedication, and also correct form.
Weight training done incorrectly can have harmful consequences.
Weight Vest Studies for Osteoporosis and Osteopenia
In 2000, Janet Shaw did a long-term study at Oregon State
University. She found that postmenopausal women who participate
in a long-term fitness regimen that includes jumping and
"resistance" exercises using weighted vests can prevent
significant bone loss in the hip.
Dr Christine Snow, who was the Director of the Bone Research
Laboratory at Oregon State University, and Shaw collaborated to
start a grassroots exercise program for Osteoporosis Risk
Reduction and Osteopenia treatment. The program was spread all
over Oregon as an adult education course.
"These kinds of results from an exercise routine haven't been
achieved before and they contradict what the medical community
has been saying for years". Dr. Snow said. "One important aspect
of the study is its longevity. When we checked these women after
nine months, the results for bone mass weren't significant.
After five years, though, the improvement was significant," she
added. "Exercise was as good or better than either estrogen or
Fosamax for preventing bone loss."
Another study was written up in the Biological Research for
Nursing newsletter in 2003. Eighteen women over 60 were randomly
assigned to an exercise group wearing a weight vest and doing
strength training for one hour three times a week, or to a
control group that did nothing. The weight vest group had
significant changes in bone density and in weight loss in 32
weeks.
How to Use a Weight Vest
By wearing a weight vest during your walking time or your most
active time of the day you are getting the benefits of weight
training without most of the effort. The weights should be as
high on the body as possible to give the most benefit to the
bones. Weights on the ankles and wrists do nothing to help your
core bones and can harm the fragile bones in those areas.
Most weight vests on the market were designed for male athletes
and are not comfortable for women. They are hard to get into it
and there are weights across the chest. But now there is a vest
that has been designed specifically for post-menopausal women
for osteopenia treatment and osteoporosis prevention. You can
find out more about it at http://weightvest4osteoporosis.com
You start out with only 4 lbs of weight and work up gradually to
a maximum of 10% of your body weight. This vest is good for the
thin women who are typically most at risk of osteoporosis but it
is also good for overweight women to accelerate weight loss and
change fat into muscle.
There is one group of women who get especially annoyed at the
diagnosis of osteopenia and that is the thin, athletic group who
exercise a little obsessively. It actually robs your bones of
protein when you exercise to excess. Cutting back on the time of
exercise and using a vest will add bone density to this group of
women also.
There is really no negative to this kind of weight-bearing
exercise. You wear the weight vest around the house for an hour
every day until you get stronger. By then you will feel more
frisky and want to take a walk or do some rebounding on a
mini-trampoline. Add weights according to your own tolerance and
take a few days off every month to give your body a rest.
In the interest of open disclosure, I want you to know that I
created this weight vest to heal my own osteoporosis. After one
year I am improved into the osteopenia zone. I decided to bring
this vest to the market so that other women could be helped by
it.