Thinking about healthy bones, yoga, and bone drugs too good to be true.

Part Six in a Series on Yoga for Healthy Bones

I am a sixty-year old yoga teacher and writer specializing in health issues for people at midlife and older. My books, "The New Yoga for People Over 50," "Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause," and "The New Yoga for Healthy Aging," explain how yoga works to keep the bones in our skeleton in good shape for a lifetime.

I've taught yoga for over thirty-five years and am a consultant for research studies about yoga. My classes attract many students who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and/or arthritis, and related health concerns.

When I first discovered the National Osteoporosis Foundation website I began posting articles about what I've learned over the years teaching students with osteoporosis. While I have not kept up with posting here on a regular basis, I have appreciated the daily "Inspire" e-mails calling attention to the many interesting discussions on this site.

Now that it's summer and I have more free time, I look forward to "giving back" to this community by posting more articles about yoga for people with osteoporosis and also answering some of the most frequently asked questions on this topic.

One of the things that inspired me to Post here today is that I received an e-mail newsletter from Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD, Director of the Osteoporosis Education Project and author of "Better Bones, Better Bodies."

Dr. Brown has written an article about the drug Forteo that I consider so important I'm giving copies to my yoga students. I also felt inspired to Post it here. She writes:

"Forteo is promoted as a rising star on the osteoporosis scene, a bone drug that actually builds new bone, rather than just halting bone loss. By various mechanisms, Forteo "tricks" the body into building substantial new bone mass and short-term studies show Forteo actually reduces fracture more than other bone drugs. Sure, it is very expensive and has to be given by daily self-administered injections, but still, the large bone density increases and unprecedented reduction of both spinal and hip fractures are impressive.

While all this sounds great, when we look more carefully, we see Forteo has a variety of serious drawbacks and side effects..."

To read the rest of the article visit www.BetterBones.com, or copy the direct link below:

http://www.betterbones.com/blog/post/Is-Forteo-a-new-bone-wonder-drug-Not-r eally!.aspx?

By SusanRae
Posted July 1, 2009 at 11:21 am
Report post

~ For those of you who won't follow the link, here's the rest of what Dr. Brown said: ". . . First, it is experimental and poorly tested. It also brings with it a series of potential adverse effects. These adverse effects include the development of bone cancer in animals, the potential to cause excessive new bone formation, high blood calcium, nausea, immunologic responses, leg cramps, hypotension, depression, and dizziness. For these reasons (not to mention its expense), I do not think Forteo is a worthwhile option for the treatment of osteoporosis in the majority of patients."

Here's a link to Dr. Brown's analysis of Forteo: http://www.betterbones.com/osteoporosis/forteo-bonedrug.aspx where she says about the animal testing "As with all drug safety tests, the drug doses tested were from 3-, 20-, and at times, 60-fold higher than those used in human medications. Notably, bone tumors were observed at all Forteo doses, with the incidence reaching 40–50% in the higher-dose groups."

and "Given this major safety concern, human trials with this drug were terminated early and guidelines were set to limit the duration of its use in humans. In fact, as the manufacturer specifically states, “The safety and efficacy of Forteo have not been evaluated beyond two years (median 19 months in women and 10 months in men). Consequently, the maximum lifetime exposure to Forteo for an individual patient is 18 months.” Also, given the cancer-causing effect of the drug, the FDA required a “black box” label warning, clearly stating the increased cancer risk shown in rat studies." (Oh, the miricale of cut and paste)

There's a lot more to what she said. I encourage you to read the whole article.

Have a good day everyone! It's a glorious day here in the Seattle area--59 degrees, sunshine, gentle breeze. I'm going to go get me some Vitamin D!

By borobelle
Posted July 1, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Report post

Hi Suza Francina,
Thanks for your input and the link to the article. How would we get your books? I am very interested in doing some Yoga and Pilates but really don't know what is safe at this point since I have osteoporosis.

By SuzaFrancina
Posted July 2, 2009 at 1:38 am
Report post

Dear SusanRae,

Thank you for posting the rest of the article by Dr. Susan Brown and encouraging others to read it.

Speaking of going out in the sun and getting some vitamin D, just today one of my yoga students who is also a swimmer told me that his coach told the team that men are getting osteoporosis in part because of all the sun block they are using... (Here in Ojai, California, where I live, it gets hot, hot, hot... so especially in the summer a dose of early morning sunshine without any sun block on my skin feels healthy and safe...)

Nice to "meet" you! Again, thanks for your Post.

By SuzaFrancina
Posted July 2, 2009 at 2:06 am
Report post

Hi borobelle,
Thanks for writing!
I think all my articles on yoga for osteoporosis are posted on this web site on my "home page." (If you can't find them please lt me know.)
I also recommend the articles/Posts on safe yoga for osteoporosis by Sara Meeks (also on this site) as well as www.sarameekspt.com.
The three yoga books I mentioned are published by Health Communications, Inc., and are available in bookstores or www.amazon.com, www.barnes&noble.com, etc.
Many yoga centers/yoga stores carry them too.

I encourage you to find a teacher who understands osteoporosis and who can give you appropriate guidance either privately or in a group class!

By SuzaFrancina
Posted July 2, 2009 at 2:12 am
Report post

PS to borobelle,
I found links to all my past yoga articles on "My profile."
If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them here.

By borobelle
Posted July 2, 2009 at 10:49 am
Report post

Dear SuzaFrancina
Thanks for the information. I'll certainly read your posts and order the books. I find that few health care professionals in my area understand much about osteoporosis, particularly in the area of exercise; however, I'll keep searching! I appreciate your work and your interest. I'll look forward to reading more!

By SuzaFrancina
Posted July 3, 2009 at 1:54 am
Report post

Dear borobelle,
I appreciate your reply and hope you fnd my books and articles useful. Perhaps you can help the health professionals in your area be better informed. I look forward to writing more in the days ahead.
Best wishes,
Suza
www.SuzaFrancina.com

By SusanUSA
Posted July 3, 2009 at 8:05 am
Report post

Hi Pls see my post. Are you saying that sunblock blocks absorption of Vitamin D through the skin? Please elaborate?! Does Factor 15 on face stop Vitamin D?

By SuzaFrancina
Posted July 4, 2009 at 12:28 am
Report post

Hi SusanUSA,

My understanding is that the constant use of sunblock blocks absorption of Vitamin D through the skin. This does not mean that we should never use sunscreen --but it means that we must learn to use common sense.

There is an excellent article, "Vitamin D: startling new research findings on an old bone builder," by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD, on the www.BetterBones.com web site: http://www.betterbones.com/bonehealthlibrary/articles/vitamin-d.aspx

Below is an excerpt on "Guidelines for Sunlight Exposure."

Short periods, 15-20 minutes daily, of near full body exposure are best for light skinned people (without sunscreen)

Use sunscreen after this initial period, so as not burn your skin

Very dark skinned people require 4-6 times more sunlight exposure than light skinned people
In Northern areas longer exposure is needed, especially during the winter

The useful ultraviolet rays are strongest between 10 am and 2 pm.

I'll research your questions more over the week-end and Post more later.

Hope this helps steer you in a healthy direction!

By Amadora
Posted July 4, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Report post

I would like to do yoga on my own, since I already have some knowledge of yoga. Would you be able to recomend which asanas could I do. I was diagnosed with osteopenia. I believe is not recomended to do backbends.

Thanks,

By SuzaFrancina
Posted July 4, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Report post

Greetings Amadora,

I recommend you review the yoga for osteoporosis guidelines in the articles posted on my profile page. The key poses for safely strengthening our bones are the weight-bearing Standing Poses like Triangle Pose, Extended Lateral Angle Pose and Half Moon Pose. I recommend you study with a teacher who can show you how to practice with yoga props (like a wall, chair and block) to keep your body in good alignment.

Upper body weight bearing poses like Downward Facing Dog Pose to srengthen the bones in the hands, wrists, arms and shoulders are also among the key poses to practice daily at home (or in class).

I will Post some links to photographs a little later...

Welcome to Inspire!

Explore topics in this journal entry and replies:

13 replies

Add to the discussion

You