Keeping three principles in mind for exercise can help middle-aged adults prevent articular injuries and osteoporosis, the Taiwanese Osteoporosis Association said yesterday.
The three principles are dynamic warm-ups before exercise, keeping the heels on the ground during exercise, and getting enough calcium and vitamin D after exercise.
Association director-general Chen Fang-ping (陳芳萍) said many middle-aged adults do not have a habit of exercising because they are afraid of sustaining articular injuries, but a lack of exercise can bring about reduced bone density, which can also lead to damaged joints.
Chen said brisk walking — which can help increase bone density and avoids putting excess pressure on knees that jogging and other activities can — is the best workout for middle-aged people.
“Usually, the primary cause [of sports injuries] is working out without a proper warm-up and some people only do stretches as warm-up, which is not wrong, but does not help protect the joints,” she said, adding that “dynamic warm-ups include moving the joints and increased blood circulation.”
Chen said the proper posture for brisk walking is different from jogging, in that the heels always touch the ground first and the body weight moves from the heels to the sole to the toes on each step.
“Drinking high-calcium milk can delay the process of joint degeneration,” according to research in an international journal, Chen said, adding that the occurrence rate of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis in people who drink milk daily is 71 percent lower than those who seldom drink milk.
Vitamin D is also important in the prevention of osteoporosis, she said, adding that a survey showed that among 194 women with amenorrhea who had suffered from bone fractures caused by osteoporosis, 86.6 percent also showed a Vitamin D deficiency.
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