Its world menopause day on Oct 18^th and we know that as we enter perimenopause and beyond, it is critical that we pay attention to our health, including the importance of taking care of our skeleton and maintaining bone strength.

Many of us are led to believe that diet and exercise are all you need to get your body looking and feeling the way you want. But when it comes to combatting stubborn belly fat that occurs during menopause, you need to understand more fully how your body works. Stress produces cortisol in the adrenal glands which can only be turned on and not off, so we need to also work on reducing stress levels and having good sleep patterns as well as regular exercise, and good diet.

Growing a strong skeleton might not make the sexiest goals list, but it should top the list of most critical lifelong goals. After all, it is a strong skeleton that keeps us upright, bears the burden of everyday movement, and carries all life-sustaining organs and body parts around.

Keeping our bones strong becomes even more critical as we age because we lose bone mass over time. During the menopausal transition, that bone loss speeds up due to the decline in oestrogen. Oestrogen plays a crucial role in bone health, so when it starts declining, it can greatly increase the chances of osteoporosis and bone fractures.

Thankfully, there are a lot of strategies you can implement to help you. One of those strategies is exercise, specifically resistance and high impact exercise. They are the two most effective ways to slow down bone loss. Both types effectively preserve bone mineral density, but resistance training has the additional benefit of increasing muscle mass and strength, which are critical for overall health, function, metabolism, and quality of life. Posture and balance training don’t have the same benefit on the skeleton as resistance training and high-impact exercise. Still, they are crucial to preventing falls, making them a must for any bone health and osteoporosis prevention program.

Pilates is a great way to burn calories and tone muscles, particularly around the back and tummy. It helps you breathe well so you can relax more and sleep better. Pilates is also extremely beneficial for pelvic floor problems, such as incontinence, prolapse, and pelvic pain.

Here are some really useful Pilates moves that you can do at home to support your bones and muscles:

Thigh Stretch

1. Starting position: High kneeling, knees hip distance apart. Pilates small ball between lower thighs. Neutral spine position. Centre gently engaged. Arms lifted forwards to shoulder height.
2. Action: Inhale to prepare.
3. Exhale, flex the knees to tilt the thighs, pelvis and spine backwards as a unit. Maintain a gentle squeeze on the Pilates Small Ball. Keep the head and neck upright.
4. Inhale, extend the knees to return to the starting position, maintaining a gentle squeeze on the Pilates Small Ball.
5. Repeat 8 – 10 times.

Leg Pull Prone Prep

1. Starting position: On your hands and knees. Knees directly under hips and hands slightly forwards of your shoulders. Elbow joints soft. Head and neck lifted in alignment with your spine. Spine long in a ‘tabletop’ position. centre engaged. Curl your toes under to rest on the balls of your feet.
2. Action: INHALE to prepare.
3. EXHALE, hover your knees one inch off the mat, keeping neutral alignment through-out the spine.
4. INHALE and hold this position.
5. EXHALE, lower your knees to the mat.

Side Bend Level 1

1. Start Position:
   Lie on your side with your hips slightly bent and knees bent to 90°. Support you upper body on your underneath forearm. Lift your underneath waist and ribcage away from the mat. Hips and shoulders stacked and facing forwards. Top arm resting long on top of the legs. Neck long in alignment with the trunk.
2. Action: INHALE to prepare.
3. EXHALE, gently engage your gluteal muscles to lift your pelvis off the mat, forming a diagonal line from your head to the knees. Simultaneously, reach your top arm upwards in an arc within your peripheral vision.
4. INHALE and hold your side bend.
5. EXHALE, lower your pelvis to the mat while simultaneously lowering your top arm.

Side Kick Press

1. Starting position: Side lying. Underneath arm outstretched in alignment with the trunk with your head resting on this arm. Hips flexed to approx. 45° and knees flexed to approx. 90°. Shoulders and hips stacked. One Theraband handle looped under the uppermost foot, other Theraband handle held in the underneath hand.
2. Action: Inhale to prepare.
3. Exhale, lift the uppermost leg to bring the knee and ankle to hip height. Then extend the uppermost hip and the knee as far as control can be maintained.
4. Inhale, flex the uppermost leg to the starting position.
5. Tips: Keep the pelvis still while doing the leg movement.

You can download your exercises here goPhysio Menopause Exercises

References 

1. Menopause Experts
2. www.menopauseexperts.com/product/menopause-life-summer-2022/

Read More

Osteoporosis – Signs and How We Can Help

Love Your Bones – World Osteoporosis Day