Healthy Bones What’s new? Petra Riedel-Willems January 22, 2009

Understanding Bone Health Bone is living tissue Functions of bone are: Storing minerals Making red blood cells Providing skeletal foundation for movement & posture Anti-gravity device

Bone is stronger than steel Bone - tensile strength around 20,000 psi "Mild" steel - tensile strength of 70,000 psi BUT: Steel is about 4.5 times heavier than bone. Bone is actually stronger than mild steel on a per-weight basis.

What can Deplete Bones? Disease Medication Lifestyle

Medications Depleting Bones Corticosteroids Glucocorticoids Thyroid replacement hormones Antacids Proton pump inhibitors Chemotherapy

Diseases That Deplete Bone Digestive Disorders - Celiac Disease - Crohns, Colitis - Irritable Bowel Syndrome Endocrine Disorders - Pituitary gland - Thyroid gland - Parathyroid gland

Life Style Choices That Deplete Bones Smoking Alcohol Caffeine Lack of calcium and vitamin D Lack of sleep - Stress Highly Acidic Diet – sugar, animal protein, refined carbohydrates

New recommendations: 1,000-1,200 mg/day for women mg/day for men Calcium Supplement - Carbonate - Citrate - Lactate and Gluconate Good Sources of Calcium - Dark green vegetables - Almonds – soaked How much Calcium?

20 sec Movie

Carry up to 80 pounds on their heads Walk for miles BUT Bone density lower than in the West YET Very low fracture rate (1%) Women in Rural Africa

Impact - experience of bearing weight - vibration Posture - stability - flexibility well-coordinated movement Balance - resourcefulness of coping with equilibrium What affects resilience in bone?

The Good News All these factors can be learned

Weight-Bearing Exercise Exercise that forces your body to support your full weight minutes at least three times a week Examples – Walking – Dancing – Jogging – Tennis – Climbing stairs

Other Exercises Strength & Balance - Swimming - Bike-riding - Weight-lifting - Tai Chi Posture & Flexibility - Yoga

- stimulating bone strength -through natural movement & weight-bearing posture -develops an organization of posture that is well-aligned Bones for Life ® Developed by Ruthy Alon Trains optimal human biomechanics

The Bones for Life ® Program - Strengthens bodies - Reverses bone loss - Coordinates movement as nature intended - Promotes a spontaneous, springy walking style - W hile restoring health and - Boosting our “biological optimism”

- Uprightness - Flexibility -Stability -Reversibility -No compression -No pain Elements of Good Posture

-Domino Effect : Coordination of all body parts into a consistent alignment - Ready to Fall: Ready to respond to environment directly Dynamic Alignment

Changing Posture is Difficult - Emotional state is expressed in bodily organization - Attachment to body patterns & emotions

Safety - Safe transmission of force without shearing stress in joints Comfort - Nervous System learns better BFL’s Main Concerns

- Walking - Pushing - Running- Pulling - Jumping- Carrying weights - Moving to and from the floor Essential Functions

-Incremental -Sequential -Learning in approximations -Easy to learn & do at home How is it done?

Tools - The Floor - The Wall - Chairs - 7 yd. cloth - Weights

Getting up

The Wave Through the Skeleton

Sensing Alignment

Sensing Alignment: Wave

Sensing Alignment: Axis

Foot Pushes Knee

The Wrap

Safe Jumping

Horizontal Climbing

The Crown: Aligning the Neck

The Crown: Walking

Research Does BFL help with Osteoporosis ? Bone Mineral Density (BMD) improved in a statistically significant way in 31 female participants, aged years old, who worked with Ruthy Alon for four months, meeting three hours per week.

Summary In BFL, you will learn gradually and safely how to: - Stimulate your bone strength - Experience Biological Optimism of a reliable skeleton - Coordinate a springy and dynamic walk - Align posture into safe weight-bearing uprightness - Develop your skill of restoring equilibrium - Enhance the pleasure of moving