Lifestyle Tips for Living Well with Osteoporosis
Being given the diagnosis of osteoporosis does not mean you need to quit doing all the things you enjoy. Those living with osteoporosis can live full and active lifestyles through small modifications and tips. Here are a few lifestyle tips for those living with osteoporosis. Living well with osteoporosis is within your reach.
Fall prevention techniques
- Stay Active! If you don’t use it, you lose it. Prioritize safe exercises and movements to improve functional endurance and balance.
- Ensure vision and hearing are evaluated. Vision and the vestibular system play a large role in our ability to balance. If these systems are neglected, the likelihood of falls may increase.
- Educate yourself on medicine and its side effects. Medications may lead to lightheadedness, making it important to stand slowly and avoid falling.
- When sitting on a chair, make sure to feel the seat on the back of your legs. Reach back to find the armrest and lower yourself into the seat slow and controlled.
Home modifications
- Remove throw rugs and clutter in walkways to minimize tripping hazards in the home
- Install proper lighting. Use night lights to assist with vision in the dark.
- Add grab bars in/outside the shower as well as around the toilet for safe transfers
- Install handrails to negotiate curbs/stairs safely
Stress management
- 5 minutes per day, lie down in a quiet, dark room and focus on breathing techniques. Inhale to maximal expansion through your nose, and passively exhale through your mouth. Smell the roses and blow out the candles
- Improve sleep hygiene. Try to accumulate 8 hours of sleep per night. Use white noise machines, blackout shades, and silence your cell phone. Minimize screen time an hour before bedtime to ensure you fall asleep.
- Create a to-do list and prioritize time-sensitive tasks
- Keep a calendar
- Exercise. Another benefit of physical activity leads to a reduction in stress levels
Support network
- Ask for help when in doubt about completing a task. Family and friends are always willing to assist with difficult tasks to keep you safe.
- Support groups are ways to engage with others who have osteoporosis. They are easy to join and allow you to learn through others’ experiences.
Physical therapy
- A physical therapist can help develop and execute plans both inside and outside of the clinic to optimize function, safety, and independence.
- Therapists can provide exercises and activity modification to help reduce pain and symptoms.
- Therapists can design a home exercise program tailored to your exact needs to address any concerns or difficulties you experience.
- Provides hands-on manual techniques to reduce pain and improve function.
- Physical Therapists can provide therapeutic modalities to reduce swelling and pain, restoring function.
No matter how long you have lived with osteoporosis, there are ways to help reduce pain, improve symptoms, and restore function. The lifestyle tips and modifications given above are just a few of the different options that can be provided to you in a completely customized program to address your specific needs. Keep living well with osteoporosis.
Schedule an appointment with one of our Physical Therapists specially trained in osteoporosis today!
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