The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women by Barbara Seaman

Author:Barbara Seaman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2010-06-11T04:00:00+00:00

EXERCISE AS PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

After we have accepted that we can’t change our genetic heritage, what is the best way to go about treating and protecting bones? How, for example, can we empower our bone quality, which is a more, elusive factor in bone strength than is bone density. Take as an analogy a fine porcelain plate that may survive being dropped while a piece of common garden pottery might shatter. The reason: Despite less density, the micro architecture of the fine plate has greater tensile strength and elasticity.

So it is with bones: The stronger our bones, the better our chances of not suffering fractures from falls and accidents. Pat Crawshaw, a Canadian osteoporosis specialist, writes of a growing awareness that “much of the age-induced increased risk of fracture is an artifact of diminished muscle strength and balance, and there is increasing evidence that though exercise doesn’t increase bone mineral density, it greatly reduces fracture rate.”

There are three major types of exercise that help prevent fractures: balance training (which prevents falls), strength training (which builds bone), and aerobic training (which builds muscle). Dr. Laura Toshi, an orthopedic surgeon who consults for the federal government’s Office of Research on Women’s Health, recommends balance training as the number one strategy against fractures.

One of the safest and most effective methods of balance training has been found to be tai chi, a traditional Chinese conditioning exercise. There are well over a hundred forms of tai chis consisting of the repertoire, but fall prevention in the elderly consists of a limited number of movements that can be easily mastered. For centuries, the elderly in China have gone to their local parks in early morning to practice, bringing with them their pet birds, which they place in nearby trees while they themselves go through the graceful, dancelike motions characteristic of the regimen. Tai chi not only teaches balance but strengthens the mind and enhances the mind-body connection. It promotes the development of relaxed breathing patterns, natural posture alignment, and clear mental focus.

Dr. Joseph M. Lane of Cornell University and Lisa Langer explain the history of tai chi:Originating in China during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 A.D.), tai chi is based on the Chinese nature philosophy of Taoism, a timeless philosophy whose concepts include harmony with oneself and the environment, gentleness of flow both internally and externally, and natural change and transformation of all things in the universe. The Chinese concept of “chi” or energy is essential to the understanding and practice of tai chi, and may best be understood as one’s intrinsic energy and vitality, qualities with which we are born and may develop fully within the course of our lives.

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