Is skating weight-bearing enough to prevent osteoporosis? Your thoughts...

[icedancer2]

I was discussing this with my Dr. today - whether skating is weight-bearing enough exercise to help prevent osteoporosis. She doesn't think it is and I say that it might be. I mean, what is the difference really between skating and walking except for the obvious - the wonderful glide...

But I think that if you are on your feet for over an hour at a time, maybe 4-5 days/ week, you are definitely weight-bearing. Doing figures helps to strengthen the muscles around your hips and certainly your core if you are doing them right....

Anyway, I am awaiting the results of my first bone-density test as we speak, so at age 54 I am wondering if skating has helped to stave off the dreaded osteoporosis...

Your thoughts? I know you have some, LOL:)

[AgnesNitt]

I think skating might help your legs and hips, but unless you're doing some off ice weight lifting it's not going to help your arms, shoulders or spine. On the other hand, in an older woman a broken hip often leads to an early death--so well, skating is good.
Other things such as certain hormone levels (like your thyroid) can have an impact too on all your bones.
Also, genetics plays a factor. None of the women in my family have osteoporosis.

And sister--56 is not old. 56 is the new 35.

[icedancer2]

And sister--56 is not old. 56 is the new 35.

Then since I'm "only" 54, then 54 must be the new 21!!!:lol:

[jazzpants]

Well, then! I'm 41... that makes me the new 16? :halo: :P :lol:

(I didn't think so either, considering that my hips and joints are making feel like I'm 80!!! DANG cold California weather!!! :evil:)

[AgnesNitt]

Then since I'm "only" 54, then 54 must be the new 21!!!:lol:

Well, then! I'm 41... that makes me the new 16? :halo: :P :lol:


It's not a linear relationship! Non-linear! Non-linear!

I could start mentioning dead german mathematicians to explain this, but that would just be dead german name dropping.:lol:

[SkaterBird]

Then since I'm "only" 54, then 54 must be the new 21!!!:lol:

Well, no less an authority than Harper's Bazaar has said that 50 is the new 30, so I am thinking I'll just be 30 all over again in a little over 2 months. 30 was acutally a pretty good year the first time around.

As for skating being a good choice to ward off osteoporosis, a couple of years ago there was an article in our local paper about a group of over-50 skaters who skate regularly at the SuperRink. They are mostly speed skaters, but there are figure skaters and hockey skaters in the group. The article quoted a couple of physicians who thought that skating had a lot to do with the terrific fitness level of the skaters in this group, and I am pretty sure that skating was mentioned as protective for osteoporosis as well a cardio fitness.

[flo]

Try pairs - it's weight bearing.

[dbny]

I think skating might help your legs and hips, but unless you're doing some off ice weight lifting it's not going to help your arms, shoulders or spine.

Actually, any weight bearing exercise affects your entire body, not just the parts involved. I was both surprised and pleased to find that out.

This is purely anecdotal, but I never drank milk as a kid - I mean none at all. I broke my arm rather badly when I was 5 and it didn't heal when it should have. My parents tried goat's milk, buttermilk, everything, but I could never get more than a few sips of milk down and didn't eat cheese either (no yoghurt available). Now, forward to age 12, when I started roller skating very seriously - minimum 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. At 15 I broke my wrist, and had no problem healing. I quit skating at 18, but began other sports like skiing, karate, squash, etc. I also began eating cheese and yoghurt (but not a lot.) At 54, I again broke my wrist (ice skating) and not only did it heal properly and in good time, but a bone density scan showed my spine was normal for a woman in her 20's, and else everything was normal for my age. I credit roller skating as a kid.

[sk8pics]

I recall reading that for maximum benefit, your bones need to be "surprised" once in a while, too. So I would think if you're doing any jumping or even bunny hops, that would help in helping to prevent osteoporosis. Obviously skating can help your overall fitness and I wonder if that makes people inclined to walk more and do other more physical things, and so that's really the way skating helps with regards to osteoporosis.

I've always been quite active and never been a thin little waif, and at my last bone density screening my bone density was way above the norm for my age, height and weight. I'm hoping that continues!

[herniated]

I think it helps. But I already have osteopenia, I was diagnosed at 38 and am 44 now. So far it hasn't progressed. And it is in my family though. I think if I had not been skating and working out my bone mass would be worse.

[blue111moon]

My orthopedist says skating skating is very good as a weight-bearing exercise. She's pleased with my bone density results (and I'm 55) and says that the gentle jumping I've done for 25+ years has probably helped a lot since I don't drink milk (lactose-intollerant).

She does not, however, recommend skating for people who already have "brittle" bones.

[je]

I thought I had posted this book when I started a similar thread last May here, but it looks like I didn't. For anyone concerned about osteoporosis, I recommend reading _The Myth of Osteoporosis_ by Gillian Sanson. Lots of eye-opening stuff about the validity of the tests themselves, who benefits from women being labeled with bone-density problems, and lots more.

Would the force you use to pull in during a spin be the equivalent of weight-bearing? It seems like if lifting weights is good, fighting centrifugal force is something similar.

Johanna

[Sessy]

Well I do know my knees have *never* held up for even 30 minutes of mild jogging, but they did for jumping and skating just fine. So I do believe the impact on skates (or rollerblades, for that matter) is faaar less in the end than in the case of jogging.

However, my instinct tells me that skating 5 days a week is definitely a health bonus.

[emma]

Well for what it is worth.....I have skated intensly for the past five years and skated almost daily for twleve years as a child. I do lots of jumping now and as a kid. I had a screening bone density test done and it came back that my bones where way denser than they should be for a person my age. Had all sorts of test done to see if anything was causing my overly dense bones. All was totally normal so my doctor wrote it off to years of intense figure skating so I guess skating counts as a weight bearing exercise as my bones are really strong.

[icedancer2]

Thank you every one for your replies - I now think I am probably going to be fine - the test results should be ready either by the end of the week or sometime next week.

I got kind of worried recently because on Halloween Day I fell really really hard on my butt trying the Novice Power 3 pattern - crossed my legs and BAM -right down on my butt on the ice very suddenly. I felt it right away in my lumbar spine and had to be helped off the ice by a friend. I knew it was bad and so took off my skates and started icing it right away. I

I went straight to my Dr. who does osteopathic manipulations. She thought I should treat it as though it were a fracture - rest, ice, rest - no skating, no bending, no falling for at least 6 weeks - She did some osteopathy. We decided not to xray because, well, what were we going to do differently?

After 3 weeks of no yoga, no skating and minimal work, I thought I was feeling better so I started adding in a gentle yoga class, a little bit of skating (no falling! - just edges and stroking... no big deal - no dancing with anyone, etc.), light housework, more work (I'm a small-animal house-call veterinarian and work for myself) - but my back was really hurting...

So I decided to go to a regular Dr. - I was thinking that at my age I might have to be concerned about osteoporosis and I wanted a bone density study so I could make sure that I wasn't going to kill myself skating...

We I had to go to a new Dr. (mine keeping quitting but that's another story altogether!) and she was kind of freaked out because I hadn't been seen in over 3 years - she ordered a bone scan, a mammogram, blood tests, and MRI and a colonoscopy (not for the back pain, but just in general...) - and wanted to give me a tetanus shot (I was like, "back off lady - I'm just here for the back pain."

Long story short - I had an MRI last week of my thoracic spine (the lumbar pain was really not there anymore and I just had the thoracic pain that I've had for years now) and then the next day she called and said that I had a compression fracture of T11 - acute - probably from the fall. And then some tiny something else in T9-T-10, mild scoliosis, etc. (even as a Dr. I don't really understand what they saw - I wish I could speak with the radiologist directly!). She wanted me to go to an orthopedic surgeon...

Anyway, I spoke to the osteopath, got the bone density scan and am now waiting for the results. I also spoke casually with a friend who is a chiropractor and told him about the fall. He asked, "Oh, do you have a compression fracture of T11 or T12?" Apparently it is not uncommon to have a compression fracture when you fall with great impact right on your butt. Speakign with him I felt much better and made me feel like it was less likely that I had osteoporosis. Also in reading through my MRI results I see that they didn't think it was a pathologic fracture (this is a fracture you get because your bones are brittle) - I don't know enough about MRIs to know if they can tell if you have osteoporosis... we don't see that much osteoporosis in animals - especially dogs - probably because they are so active and have a lot of weight-bearing exercise LOL - cats are another story... all that laying around and sleeping and being stealthy.

Anyway, thanks for the input - it seems like skating is probably a perfectly good weight-bearing exercise - maybe moreso if you jump than just doing ice-dance, figure and Moves - so maybe I'll have to get rid of the dance blades and just start jumping!

Oh yeah, no falling... at least for now...:P

[Sessy]

Good luck with the colonoscopy. Isn't that a fun procedure. :twisted:

[dbny]

Good luck with the colonoscopy. Isn't that a fun procedure. :twisted:

It's certainly not a pain in the back :twisted::lol:.

[mikawendy]

It's not a linear relationship! Non-linear! Non-linear!

I could start mentioning dead german mathematicians to explain this, but that would just be dead german name dropping.:lol:

LOL, that reminds me of when friends of mine and I would gleefully torture our math teacher in high school by pronouncing Euler's name as "yoo-ler." (Well, he's a dead Swiss mathematician, but pretty close!)

Way back when I had just started group lessons (age 26), two girls in my class discovered they were in the same middle school gym class. Then they asked me what grade I was in. But I also have a hard time figuring out people's ages at the skating rink. I think the lack of context from street clothes has something to do with it, but I like to think that the ice preserves us well! :lol::lol:

[Thin-Ice]

LOL, that reminds me of when friends of mine and I would gleefully torture our math teacher in high school by pronouncing Euler's name as "yoo-ler." (Well, he's a dead Swiss mathematician, but pretty close!)

This brought up a fun old high school memory (I think that qualifies as "ancient history"). Our school's sports teams were named "Oilers" (we even had an oil well at the end of the football field). But the Math Club team competed under the name "Eulers".

[Sessy]

This brought up a fun old high school memory (I think that qualifies as "ancient history"). Our school's sports teams were named "Oilers" (we even had an oil well at the end of the football field). But the Math Club team competed under the name "Eulers".

You know here in the Netherlands, we call a half-loop jump an "Euler". Pronounce: oiler.

[Sessy]

It's certainly not a pain in the back :twisted::lol:.

Yeah I kinda had a... bad gut feeling about mine, but I spilled my guts to the physician doing it and he assured me I could stomach it. He wasn't quite right: I felt kinda crappy afterwards. :twisted:

[looplover]

Well I do know my knees have *never* held up for even 30 minutes of mild jogging, but they did for jumping and skating just fine. So I do believe the impact on skates (or rollerblades, for that matter) is faaar less in the end than in the case of jogging.



Agreed - I'm having a problem with getting my new dog enough exercise - I just cannot jog with her because my knees are screwy. But they are fine for skating (of course they are screwy because of skating but still):twisted:

[Thin-Ice]

You know here in the Netherlands, we call a half-loop jump an "Euler". Pronounce: oiler.

Oh that's VERY cool!!! I may start using that.. just to confuse my coach... and claim it's a tribute to my former high schoolmates.:lol:

[Sessy]

Agreed - I'm having a problem with getting my new dog enough exercise - I just cannot jog with her because my knees are screwy. But they are fine for skating (of course they are screwy because of skating but still):twisted:

Either take up rollerblading - my favourite for building up stamina without wrecking my knees - or cycling. Lots of elderly people in the netherlands get their dogs to exercise with them that way, on the bicycle.

If you go for rollerblading, seriously think about getting/making either gel or sponge elbow and knee guards and getting some real wrist guards, and find a good crackless asphalt track for yourself. Pavement tiles tend to be a killer!

[herniated]

Hi icedancer2 - Sorry about your compression fracture, that sucks. I know that osteopenia can be seen from an xray (cause I had them done over the summer) but I'm not sure if the MRI can tell. Let us know what the bone density outcome is.

[sk8pics]

Good luck with the colonoscopy. Isn't that a fun procedure. :twisted:

{shrug} I had one today and it was no problem at all. Slept peacefully (and fast!) and woke up maybe 10 minutes after and felt totally fine. Prep wasn't so bad either, my doc uses pills to get you, um, ready. Went out to eat afterwards with the friend who drove me and waited for me. I guess I wasn't totally with it, though, because I took the straw that was intended for my water glass and first put it in my coffee, :roll::lol: But at least I realized it right away and we both had a good laugh. But I digress...

Anyway, good luck to you icedancer2. I hope it all works out just fine. Oh, and get that tetanus booster if it's been 10 years since your last one! You never know when it might come in handy (like for me, in Italy over the summer when I cracked my head open on a rusty hook on a boat:roll:.)

[dbny]

You know here in the Netherlands, we call a half-loop jump an "Euler". Pronounce: oiler.

When I was a roller skater, we also learned the half-loop as a Euler, pronounced "you-ler" though!

If you go for rollerblading, seriously think about getting/making either gel or sponge elbow and knee guards and getting some real wrist guards, and find a good crackless asphalt track for yourself. Pavement tiles tend to be a killer!

The orthopod who took care of my broken wrist told me to wear all possible protection when rollerblading.

Oh, and get that tetanus booster if it's been 10 years since your last one! You never know when it might come in handy (like for me, in Italy over the summer when I cracked my head open on a rusty hook on a boat:roll:.)

It's so much better to have the tetanus shots on schedule than to have to run to the ER for one in inconvenient circumstances. I also learned the hard way while camping. Now I keep track of the entire families tetanus boosters in my PDA.

[looplover]

Either take up rollerblading - my favourite for building up stamina without wrecking my knees - or cycling. Lots of elderly people in the netherlands get their dogs to exercise with them that way, on the bicycle.

If you go for rollerblading, seriously think about getting/making either gel or sponge elbow and knee guards and getting some real wrist guards, and find a good crackless asphalt track for yourself. Pavement tiles tend to be a killer!

I just might! for now this dog is crazy!!! she crosses in front and pulls so she'll pull me right into traffic. I wish I could take her to the rink! :lol:

[AgnesNitt]

It's not a linear relationship! Non-linear! Non-linear!

I could start mentioning dead german mathematicians to explain this, but that would just be dead german name dropping.:lol:

LOL, that reminds me of when friends of mine and I would gleefully torture our math teacher in high school by pronouncing Euler's name as "yoo-ler." (Well, he's a dead Swiss mathematician, but pretty close!)


I am humiliated, I was thinking of Weibull. When I looked him up I found out he was Swedish. With Euler being Swiss, Einstein Austrian, LaPlace-French, I guess that leaves only Gauss as German. At this point I'm afraid to check in Wikipedia, for fear that I can name drop no dead German mathematicians.
/sigh/ I am so far off topic now I'm headed to the Off-topic forum for forum etiquette refresher.

[icedancer2]

Well, I got the results of the bone density scan. It is a mixed bag.

My lumbar spine is perfectly normal bone density. Yea.

The left femur (proximal) shows low bone density - 82% of the average value seen in a woman my age. The left femoral neck (the part that fractures when you have a hip fracture) shows low normal bone density.

Happy that the spine is very good.

Odd that my left leg shows the low densitiy - that is my "strong" leg, my spinning leg, etc., etc. - I guess that they don't do the right leg but if I were to guess I would think that one would be lower, although that is also the one that is "stuck" a bit (closed, in skating terms- my left hip is open...). Of course, when I used to jump, my right leg was my landing leg so that one should be maybe better... gotta start jumping again, LOL.

But what is hilarious to me is that in the part where it says CLINICAL HISTORY: "This 54-year-old postmenopausal woman recently fell and fractured her T12 vertebra. She has positive family history of osteoporosis and has never been on estrogen replacement therapy."

Okay, then in the CURRENT FRACTURE RISK: "It would be unusual for this young postmenopausal woman to have a fragility fracture, as her age and bone density would indicate a low fracture risk. If she truly has had a nontraumatic vertebral fracture, her fracture risk would be elevated to high." (She called me "young"!)

This is what KILLS me about doctors (and yes, I am one and I am often amazed by colleagues...) In the first paragraphs it says that I sustained a fracture due to a fall and in the next paragraph they seem confused about me getting a nontraumatic fracture -- I mean, read the first paragraph!!!

Of course anyone who skates has a fracture risk, so there!

Thanks for the comments guys - I appreciate the little side-tracks as well.

[dbny]

It's great that your bone density in the spine is so good. I would take the femoral reading with a grain of salt. The first time I had a bone density scan done, they said my wrists were possibly less dense than they should be. A year later, they had stopped scanning wrists as they had found that the reading were not reliable on the thinner bones.

The paragraph on Current Fracture Risk is full of "would be", "would", and "if", which makes me think it's formulaic. The significant thing there is "her age and bone density would indicate a low fracture risk."

[Rusty Blades]

I had a bone density scan about 3 years ago and was told I have some density loss in my lower back. My endocrinologist and my GP are very encouraging about my skating (despite the risks) and feel it will help stave off any further density loss (along with hormone replacement).

[Sessy]

{shrug} I had one today and it was no problem at all. Slept peacefully (and fast!) and woke up maybe 10 minutes after and felt totally fine. Prep wasn't so bad either, my doc uses pills to get you, um, ready. Went out to eat afterwards with the friend who drove me and waited for me. I guess I wasn't totally with it, though, because I took the straw that was intended for my water glass and first put it in my coffee, :roll::lol: But at least I realized it right away and we both had a good laugh. But I digress...


Yeah see there's the difference. I was awake for mine. :twisted: They don't put you under for small procedures like the extraction of glands or colonoscopy's in Russia. They believe full anesthesia is very bad for the body - and it probably is.

Not to mention I turned out to be allergic to the pills that were supposed to uh, empty my colon. It was some pink stuff with a fake berry taste and you were supposed to dissolve it in water and drink it. I get puking urges from fake berry tasting candy and such to this day...

[Sessy]

When I was a roller skater, we also learned the half-loop as a Euler, pronounced "you-ler" though!


Yes but you also call Europa (Oi-rope-ah) by the name of You-rope. :twisted::lol:

[sk8lady]

To get off the off-topics for a minute (although to make Agnes feel better, Gauss may be only ONE dead German mathematician but at least he's famous enough so that he's the only one I've ever heard of!), the ice-dance group I skate with had lunch the other day and I sat next to a gal I hadn't met before. Turns out her husband is an orthopedic surgeon and she said he is THRILLED that she skates--considers it extremely good for her and her bones.
Skating is certainly weight-bearing since you're on your feet, but it's also low-impact except when you're jumping, which is probably why I don't have the hip and back problems my mother and sister have--which, speaking as someone who is the new if-it-WERE-linear-20, I'm pretty grateful for!

[sk8pics]

Yeah see there's the difference. I was awake for mine. :twisted: They don't put you under for small procedures like the extraction of glands or colonoscopy's in Russia. They believe full anesthesia is very bad for the body - and it probably is.
Well, this is not really fully anesthesia (general anesthesia) and the drugs they use are very fast acting. So, I'm willing to risk it, given the alternative! I've talked to a couple of people who were awake and it's definitely not something I would want to be awake for!

Not to mention I turned out to be allergic to the pills that were supposed to uh, empty my colon. It was some pink stuff with a fake berry taste and you were supposed to dissolve it in water and drink it. I get puking urges from fake berry tasting candy and such to this day...
Sorry to hear that! I gather there are different prep methods and the one my doctor used was about as innocuous as you can get, considering. Just pills to swallow with water or juice or soda. So, not bad at all!

[Sessy]

Well, this is not really fully anesthesia (general anesthesia) and the drugs they use are very fast acting. So, I'm willing to risk it, given the alternative! I've talked to a couple of people who were awake and it's definitely not something I would want to be awake for!


You're probably right. In retrospect, I don't think I'd wanna be either.

[icedancer2]

It's great that your bone density in the spine is so good. I would take the femoral reading with a grain of salt. The first time I had a bone density scan done, they said my wrists were possibly less dense than they should be. A year later, they had stopped scanning wrists as they had found that the reading were not reliable on the thinner bones.

The paragraph on Current Fracture Risk is full of "would be", "would", and "if", which makes me think it's formulaic. The significant thing there is "her age and bone density would indicate a low fracture risk."

Thank you - I am feeling much better now that I know that I am doing well - I've always thought skating was plenty weight-bearing!!

My plan is to stay off the ice for another month to rest the spine and allow the fracture to heal (after all, it is the crazy Christmas-season so why bother fighting the crowds?) and then adding some strength-training/physical therapy to the mix so that I can continue to enjoy a strong body!

[TiggerTooSkates]

And sister--56 is not old. 56 is the new 35.

Being 35, this is great news for me as well... :D

[dbny]

I had a bone density scan about 3 years ago and was told I have some density loss in my lower back. My endocrinologist and my GP are very encouraging about my skating (despite the risks) and feel it will help stave off any further density loss (along with hormone replacement).

I urge you to stop the hormone replacement therapy. It seems like every day there are new studies showing a strong link to cancer.

Yes but you also call Europa (Oi-rope-ah) by the name of You-rope. :twisted::lol:

Nope, we pronounced it "you-ROPE-uh."