Osteoporosis Class Starting at PhysioCare
What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a condition which causes the bones to become weak and brittle. Osteoporosis affects the density of the bone, causing it to become more fragile and thus increasing the risk of fractures. It typically affects women more than men, but it is not exclusive to women. One in four men over the age of 50 will be diagnosed with Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can be caused by numerous different factors ranging from a sedentary lifestyle, vitamin and mineral deficiencies to hormonal changes, particularly affecting post menopausal women. In Ireland, Osteoporosis is a disease on the rise with an estimated 300,000 people affected by it and roughly 200 million people affected by it worldwide. That is we PhysioCare are starting the Osteoporosis class.
How will the Osteoporosis class help you?
The evidence shows that one of the most important components of a management programme for Osteoporosis is exercise. Any exercise is beneficial, but weight bearing exercises particularly are the best in the treatment of Osteoporosis. Walking is good, but resistance exercises are great for maintaining bone density and increasing muscles mass. Exercises such as squats, step ups and press-ups will be incorporated in the Osteoporosis class at PhysioCare. The idea of resistance and strength training exercises may sound daunting, but the class will be led by Chartered Physiotherapists (Andrew Cullinane (MISCP) and Cal Dunlea (MISCP)) and each exercise can be progressed or regressed to suit the needs of each individual. Another vital component of any Osteoporosis exercise programme is balance exercises. These are very important because a fall for someone with Osteoporosis is much more serious than for somebody without it, this is down to the brittle nature of the bones and how easily a fracture can occur.
What is the structure of the class?
The class will be run over an eight week period. It starts in our Blanchardstown clinic on Friday 20th October at 2:00pm and our Carrickmines clinic on Thursday 26th October at 11:00am. Each class will be 60 minutes long and will have a maximum of 10 people per class. The classes are small in size to ensure everyone in the class is carrying out the exercise safely and correctly so that the Chartered Physiotherapists can supervise each class participant. You can expect a combination of verbal, visual and tactile cues during the Osteoporosis class. If there is anything that you do not feel comfortable doing in the class let them know and the exercises can be amended to suit your needs. Each class will start with a short warm up and from there move on to some floor exercises, weight bearing strengthening exercises, balance exercises and finally a cool down to finish the session.
Call us on 015310007 if you require any more information or wish to book into the Osteoporosis Class at PhysioCare.
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