Exercising when you have osteoporosis - Mayo Clinic Press (2025)

Like the rest of your body, your bones thrive on movement. That’s why activity and exercise are good for bone health.

If you’re trying to prevent or treat osteoporosis, the types of activities and exercises you choose to do will be based on your goals, overall health status, degree of bone loss and what you enjoy doing. You may want to avoid some exercises and movements that could cause more damage to your bones.

If you have osteoporosis, talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program. What’s appropriate for one individual may not help another. Your doctor can help you determine what exercises will do you the most good and how intensely to do them.

Often a combination of different exercises is recommended to help prevent or treat osteoporosis.

Exercises for Osteoporosis

Three types of exercise are often recommended for people with osteoporosis: weight-bearing exercise, resistance exercise and back-strengthening exercises with extension. Doing a little of each in a structured program can help you keep your bones strong and maintain good posture. Remember that exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to be effective.

Warming up and cooling down

It’s important to allow time for warming up before any physical exercise and gradually increases your heart rate, and it loosens up your muscles, which reduces your risk of injury.

To warm up, walk slowly, then increase your pace gradually. Or begin an activity, such as bicycling or swimming, at a relaxed pace until you feel loose.

End each exercise session by walking slowly or continuing the activity at a slower pace. It’s also a good time to stretch the muscles you used during your exercise.

Weight-bearing exercises for osteoporosis

Weight-bearing exercises have nothing to do with weightlifting equipment. They’re done on your feet with the bones of your lower body supporting your weight. These activities help slow mineral loss in the bones of your legs, hips and lower spine.

Many young adults build bone mass through their participation in high-impact activities, which places greater loads on their bones. High-impact activities include jogging, soccer, basketball, volleyball, racket sports, gymnastics, dance and figure skating.

Older adults or people with low bone density should take precautions against too much impact and avoid activities that involve a high risk of falling. Low-impact activities such as walking place less stress on fragile bones.

If slower-paced activity sounds more your speed, tai chi may be a good choice. This ancient Chinese martial art is now practiced as a graceful form of exercise. It involves a series of movements performed in a slow, focused manner with deep breathing. Tai chi may help improve your strength and balance through gentle weight-bearing exercise and stretching. Still, if you have severe osteoporosis, talk with your doctor before trying it.

Someone in a frail condition may opt for weight-supported exercises — as opposed to weight-bearing exercises. Weight-supported exercises include swimming, floor exercises or cycling on a stationary bike.

Remember that weight bearing is all about being on your feet. The most important thing is to choose exercises that you enjoy. Walking not only improves your balance and coordination, it’s one of the best exercises for reducing your risk of falls.

Take a brisk walk around the block with a neighbor or walk on a treadmill while watching television. If you don’t use walking as a form of regular exercise, fit in short walks whenever possible. Make your walks more fun by bringing a friend or your spouse. On poor-weather days, consider indoor walking at a mall or a health club. Remember to include warmup and cool-down periods.

Weight-bearing exercises also provide aerobic benefits. Aerobic activities increase your breathing and heart rate, which improve the health of your heart, lungs and circulatory system. This gives you more stamina, which makes it easier to do whatever you need to do, whether it’s cleaning the house or climbing stairs.

Even if your doctor advises you to avoid weight-bearing exercises, you can still gain aerobic benefits from low- or no-impact exercises, such as swimming, water exercises and indoor cycling.

Low-impact weight-bearing activities

Any of the following activities would generally be a safe, invigorating choice for someone with osteoporosis:

• Walking
• Treadmill walking
• Using an elliptical machine
• Using a stair-step machine
• Low-impact aerobics
• Tai chi
• Dancing
• Light gardening
• Deep-water walking
• Water aerobics

Water activities don’t provide the impact your bones need to slow mineral loss, but they can be beneficial for people with severe osteoporosis.

Resistance exercises for osteoporosis

Whereas weight-bearing exercise uses gravity to strengthen the bones in your lower body, resistance exercise applies weight — or resistance — to specific muscles to strengthen them. Strong muscles allow you to stand up straight and move with confidence, and they help keep you from falling. Activities that build muscle strength also work directly on bone to slow mineral loss.

To create resistance, your muscles have to push or pull against an opposing force. A common way to do resistance exercise is to lift weights, either with free weights or with weight machines. For this reason, resistance exercise is sometimes called weightlifting, weight training or strength training. But conditions such as osteoporosis can make it difficult and unsafe to hoist heavy weights. Other, more-gentle methods of resistance training include isometric exercises, resistance bands and water workouts.

Why do you need resistance exercise? As you grow older, your muscle fibers shrink in number and size. Sometime after age 30, your muscle mass begins to diminish by as much as 1% each year. The quality of muscle fibers changes too. That means you could have 40% less muscle at age 70 than you did at age 30. Losing muscle mass not only saps your strength but also affects your balance and coordination.

If you have osteoporosis, you’ll need assistance in designing a resistance training program that includes proper lifting techniques and that’s appropriate for your degree of bone loss. Consult your doctor, a rehabilitation specialist (physiatrist), a registered physical therapist or a certified athletic trainer to determine the type of resistance exercise that’s best for you.

Weight training for older adults

With proper supervision, many older adults, including those with osteoporosis, can participate in weightlifting. But you’ll need to check with your healthcare provider first. They can prescribe exercises based on your bone density and fitness level. The weights should be light. And you’ll need to pay strict attention to proper technique to avoid placing too much stress on the spine.

Exercising with free weights is a great way to build muscle mass because it can simulate motions you make in real life, such as carrying boxes or lifting a bag of groceries. Start with weights of 1 or 2 pounds — and not more than 5 pounds. You should be able to lift the weights comfortably at least eight times. One set of 10 lifts, repeated a few times a week, can build muscle.

Free weights and weight machines can be found at most gyms and health clubs and in some schools. You can make your own weights by filling old socks with beans or pennies or by partially filling a half-gallon jug with water or sand. Or you may be able to purchase used weights at some athletic equipment stores. Make sure you receive instruction on how to use them.

Resistance bands

Large elastic or latex bands — they look just like large rubber bands — provide resistance when you pull on them. These exercise bands are made with different degrees of resistance to match your fitness level. Consult your doctor or an exercise specialist to select an appropriate resistance level. Someone with osteoporosis should start exercising with low-resistance bands. Resistance bands can easily be used at home or packed in a suitcase when you travel. Some bands have handles or an anchor so that they can be attached to a door.

Water workouts

Water offers resistance as you push against it. Simply walking in water using correct posture will strengthen your abdominal muscles. You can also perform upper and lower body moves such as curls and squats in the water. For a more intense workout, use barbells and weighted boots, which add to water’s natural resistance.

Many organizations, including YMCAs, YWCAs, health clubs and hospitals, offer water exercise classes. Be sure to inform your instructor if you have any health conditions such as osteoporosis that might affect your workout.

Back-strengthening exercises

Strengthening your back muscles can help treat osteoporosis by improving posture and reducing your risk of vertebral fractures.

Talk to your doctor or a physical therapist about exercises that help strengthen the back. Exercises that use specially designed, weighted backpacks may be beneficial in improving back strength and reducing compression fractures. Remember to avoid exercises that round your back and increase pressure on your spine.

An excerpt from Mayo Clinic on Osteoporosis: Keep your bones strong and reduce your risk of fractures by Ann E. Kearns, M.D., Ph.D.