Why Yoga Isn’t Sufficient to Enhance Bone Density

Can yoga truly enhance bone density?

In case you ask Google, you’ll discover all kinds of assets saying sure—yoga is an efficient technique for constructing bone density and stopping osteoporotic fractures, like hip or femur breaks from falls.

A seek for “Yoga for Osteoporosis” pulls up hundreds of hits for books, applications, and movies promising that will help you construct higher bones with a low-impact yoga apply. Even Yoga with Adriene has a “Yoga for Bone Well being” video on her channel, which reaches over 12 million subscribers.

However most of these hyperlinks hint again to at least one important supply: the work of Dr. Loren Fishman, writer of a number of books together with Yoga for Osteoporosis. He’s additionally the co-author of a 2015 examine that implies yoga can improve bone mineral density (BMD) within the backbone and femoral neck—doubtlessly lowering the chance of life-threatening fractures in older adults. The examine was titled, “12-Minute Each day Yoga Routine Reverses Osteoporotic Bone Loss.”

The Research That Made Waves within the Yoga World

I keep in mind when the information of Dr. Fishman’s study got here out. It was an enormous deal within the yoga world and despatched ripples via the broader wellness area.

As an alternative of simply being recognized for leisure, yoga might now be seen as a one-stop-shop for all of your health wants.

It was nice information for yoga practitioners—and nice for enterprise, too. Studios and academics now had scientific backing for what they have been already selling. The examine additionally helped carry yoga additional into the mainstream and validated what many longtime yogis already believed about their beloved apply.

However the larger query remained: Are the examine’s findings legit?

What the LIFTMOR Trial Tells Us About Bone Progress

Apparently, the identical 12 months Dr. Fishman’s examine was revealed, so was the LIFTMOR trial.

The LIFTMOR trial additionally studied osteoporosis—particularly in postmenopausal girls with no vital historical past of train and low bone mineral density. Individuals have been cut up into two teams: one did low-impact motion at residence, whereas the opposite did supervised high-intensity progressive resistance coaching (HiPRT). Every group exercised twice per week for half-hour over an eight-month interval.

The outcomes? There was a vital distinction in bone progress between the low-intensity residence group and the supervised power coaching group. And people outcomes have been replicated in a number of comparable trials that adopted.

Even higher? The resistance coaching group had no accidents reported.

So, if low-impact motion had minimal affect on BMD, however the Fishman examine claimed yoga (additionally low affect) elevated BMD—what offers?

Why Dr. Fishman’s Research Falls Quick

There are a number of flaws in Dr. Fishman’s examine that make the outcomes much less scientifically legitimate.

1. No management group. This implies they’re not evaluating the outcomes of individuals doing yoga to folks not doing yoga. They have been merely doing 12 poses and monitoring their progress—generally qualitatively (“how do you’re feeling?”), generally quantitatively (by way of bone scans). With out a management group to match the outcomes to, it’s laborious to attract dependable conclusions from the findings on this examine.

2. The examine hasn’t been independently replicated. It lacks sufficient element for others to breed it and validate the findings.

3. Potential for bias. Dr. Fishman funded the examine himself. That doesn’t robotically disqualify the work, but it surely does increase purple flags—particularly on condition that he earnings from yoga books, applications, and trainings if the findings help using his services.

4. It’s not a blind or double blind examine.

Each one who participated was already a yoga practitioner once they began. It wasn’t a brand new apply for them, however acquainted. One thing they most likely loved. This is able to have additionally probably impacted how they responded to the yoga poses or have been merely extra inclined to remain dedicated to doing the poses constantly.

Collectively, these components restrict the examine’s validity and scientific rigor.

The Actual Science Behind Constructing Bone Density

Right here’s what we do know: to construct bone, you need to stress bone.

Meaning making use of a specific amount of stress to bones to stimulate progress.

And as your physique adapts, you need to improve that stress over time. That is what progressive overload is all about—growing the load or impact to maintain your bones responding and getting stronger.

Put merely, yoga doesn’t apply sufficient power to considerably improve bone density.

Let’s Get Sensible: What Yoga Can (and Can’t) Do

Lots of the poses in Dr. Fishman’s examine have been standing, however some have been seated. One was supine and inactive—savasana, pose #12.

If seated and supine positions constructed stronger bones, we’d all be growing BMD whereas driving or sleeping.

Within the examine, Dr. Fishman argued that yoga pits opposing muscle teams towards one another in a approach that stimulates bone progress. He wrote:

“By pitting one group of muscle mass towards one other, yoga exposes bones to better forces and, due to this fact, would possibly improve bone mineral density (BMD) greater than different means.”

Sadly, this merely isn’t true.

At finest, yoga entails bodyweight-only power—about the identical as strolling your canine. And research repeatedly present that bones want vital load or affect to develop: issues like lifting heavy weights or leaping.

So, Can Yoga Assist You Construct Energy?

Sure—to a degree. However for most individuals—no.

Yoga is a implausible basis for power, significantly when you’re new to motion, recovering from damage or sickness, or engaged on reconnecting along with your physique.

As a result of it makes use of body weight solely (plus gravity), you’ll finally plateau in how a lot power you possibly can achieve. However it’s nice for constructing endurance when you maintain poses for longer than a number of breaths.

One Follow Can’t Do All the things

Let’s be actual: no single apply checks each health field.

Energy coaching builds muscle and bone, but it surely’s not cardio. Biking is nice for cardiovascular well being, but it surely received’t enhance bone density. Dance is enjoyable and expressive and presents affect and cardio, however not power.

Each sort of motion has its strengths and limitations—and that’s okay.

The purpose is just to say that our our bodies want selection and one fashion of motion can not do all the things our our bodies have to be wholesome.