Osteoarthritis & Osteoporosis

This is the time of year I like to take advantage of the quiet of the racing off-season and work on my professional upgrading.  As a personal trainer, I work with a broad range of clients - people who want to run faster, expecting mothers hoping to have fit and healthy pregnancies, and a segment of the population which is growing more and more each year, the active aging population which often have chronic long term conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis. 

I spent much of this weekend attending a training workshop developing my skill set to better train those individuals looking to remain active while managing two common health conditions - Osteoarthritis & Osteoporosis.

It is a common misconception that people managing Osteoarthritis and/or Osteoporosis should slow down and 'take it easy'.  This is far from the truth.  In fact, more motion (including low impact cardio and deep stretching) and strength training (especially around affected joints) will help reduce pain, inflammation and stiffness, as well as improve ROM, and improve Daily Active Living tasks.   

In this workshop I learnt some new techniques to add to my growing repertoire of exercises.

For osteoarthritis I learnt: new fascial line stretches to increase ROM in the upper and lower body, quad & glute activation drills with a stability ball, hand/wrist warm ups to reduce pain & stiffness, how to perform clams for the shoulders (its not just for the glutes you know), etc...

For osteoporosis I learnt: modified body positioning to reduce stress on the spine (one of the most common areas impacted by osteoporosis), appropriate ROM while stretching affected areas, how to apply Wolf's Law (the bones respond to stress) to training such as heel tapping techniques, etc... 

The part I most enjoy about these workshops is the hands on approach to learning all the participants undergo.  I had the opportunity to practice my new skill sets on others.  Below are a few action shots of myself demonstrating the semi-prone clam (for shoulder strengthening) on the course instructor Ona McDonald.  Thanks Ona!

 
If you or someone you know is managing either of these long term conditions and looking for a fitness professional with the skill set to safely and efficiently guide you through exercises, then please feel free to contact me.  Don't let arthritis or osteoporosis prevent you from living a full and active life.