Bone Density: High Impact

And you thought jumping rope was just for fun… Well, it is! But it also might be good for the health of your bones. We’re not saying you have to hit 332 jumps per minute, but even at a leisurely pace, a little jumping can be good for your bones.  

As it turns out, when bones receive a moderate impact (we’re talking a moderate impact from movement like running or jumping) bones make themselves stronger.  

In a recent study (playfully titled Physical activity and bone: may the force be with you) it was discovered that young persons, whose bones are still developing, can increase bone density with physical exercise which included moderate impact activities. The hope is that building bone density in young people will help provide protection from future bone loss issues such as osteoporosis, although further research into long-term effects is needed. And these clever scientists weren’t the only ones to find such promising results from moderate impact exercise. In another study of premenopausal women, when bones were subjected to a moderate force from jumping, hip bone density increased.  

As we age, the risk of bone loss and all its negative side effects increases. One of the best preventives for future problems with osteoporosis is to start with strong bones. These studies show we can improve bone strength over a relatively short period of time with purposeful, moderate impact activity.  

Want to read more? Check out this article from the New York Times, here. Hop to it!

Image credit: Double Dutch Street Performance by ? – Matsuri @ Vancouver City Centre Station by GoToVan via Flickr Copyright Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Originally published 4/10/14 on diagnosticimagingcenterskc.com.