Exercise for women with osteoporosis: what is safe
Which exercise is safe with osteoporosis or osteopenia after menopause: strength, weight-bearing and balance work, the moves to adapt, and when to see a physio first.
Muscle, bone and balance after 40
What happens to bone and muscle around menopause, and the kinds of exercise that protect both.
Guides on muscle, bone and balance
Home workout for women over 50: no equipment
A full-body bodyweight session for women over 50, built from the NHS strength and balance routines, with how often to do it and how to make it harder without weights.
Protein after menopause: how much for muscle
How much protein women need after menopause to keep muscle, what the research behind 0.8 and 1.0 to 1.2 g per kg says, and how to spread it across meals and workouts.
Strength training during menopause: how to start
How often to lift, which muscles to work and a first-month plan you can follow at home, based on NHS and NIH guidance for women in perimenopause and menopause.
Does menopause cause weight gain? Where muscle fits in
Menopause speeds up fat gain and muscle loss more than it raises the number on the scale. What a long-term NIH study found, how long it lasts, and why strength matters.
About this topic
The US National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases calls osteoporosis the major cause of fractures in postmenopausal women and says that, for many women, it begins to develop a year or two before menopause. Older adults also tend to lose muscle, which the institute calls sarcopenia, and weaker muscles make falls more likely.
Its advice for bone is a combination: weight-bearing exercise such as brisk walking, stair climbing and dancing, resistance training with weights, bands or body weight, and balance training such as tai chi, step-ups and standing on one foot. The guides here explain each one and how to start safely.
Sources for this page:
Questions about muscle, bone and balance
Which exercise is good for bones?
NIAMS recommends a mix of weight-bearing exercise, resistance training and balance work for building and keeping healthy bones.
I have osteopenia. Can I still lift?
NIAMS asks people with low bone density or osteoporosis to talk to a health care provider before starting a program, so the activity can be chosen for them.
Why does balance matter?
Strong muscles and good balance lower the risk of falling, and falls are what break weakened bones, according to NIAMS.
Other topics
Each topic gathers the guides on one subject, with the sources they draw on.