Osteoporosis Exercise Program in Five Dock
An osteoporosis exercise program is a structured, progressive strength and balance plan built around your bone density result, your fracture history and what your body currently tolerates. It is not a general fitness class with lighter weights. The point is to load bone and muscle enough to matter, in positions and ranges that suit your spine and hips, and to keep training the balance and reaction skills that reduce the chance of a fall in the first place.
We run these programs from Five Dock and as home visits across Drummoyne, Russell Lea, Abbotsford, Haberfield, Rodd Point and Canada Bay.
Who this suits
Most people who come in have had a DEXA scan and a T-score that puts them in the osteopenia or osteoporosis range, often after menopause or after starting a medication that affects bone. Others come in after a wrist or vertebral fracture that surprised them, or because a parent had multiple fractures and they want to get ahead of it.
It also suits people who have been told to "do some weight-bearing exercise" and left the appointment without knowing what that means in practice. Walking is weight-bearing, but for most people it does not load the hip and spine hard enough on its own to be the whole plan.
What the first assessment covers
The first session runs about an hour and is mostly measurement and history.
We go through your bone density report if you have it, including site-specific T-scores for the lumbar spine, femoral neck and total hip, since those sites can differ a lot. We ask about previous fractures and how they happened, current medications including bisphosphonates, denosumab or hormone therapy, corticosteroid use, thyroid history, calcium and vitamin D, and whether you have had any height loss or new mid-back pain.
Then we test. Grip strength with a handheld dynamometer, a 30-second sit-to-stand, the Timed Up and Go, single-leg stance time with eyes open, gait speed over four metres, and a look at hip, thoracic and ankle mobility. If you are already lifting, we work out your current loads on the main patterns rather than guessing.
Those numbers become the baseline. We retest them at roughly 8 to 12 week intervals so progression is based on data rather than feel.
How the program is built
The backbone is progressive resistance training, usually twice a week, built around a squat or leg press pattern, a hip hinge or deadlift variation, a loaded carry or overhead press, and a pulling movement for the upper back. Healthy Bones Australia's exercise guidance covers three broad elements for bone health: progressive resistance training, weight-bearing impact work where it is appropriate, and balance and mobility training. A program is built from those pieces, weighted towards what your assessment shows you need most.
Load progresses gradually. Someone who has never lifted might start with a 4kg dumbbell goblet squat to a box and bodyweight step-ups. Someone with good movement quality and no vertebral fracture history may work up to a hex bar deadlift or a heavier leg press over several months. The Griffith University LIFTMOR trial is one of the reasons supervised heavier loading is now discussed openly for postmenopausal women with low bone mass, rather than everyone being handed 1kg weights by default.
Impact work, when it is appropriate for you, might be as simple as heel drops, controlled hopping or stair descent. This part is individual. Fracture history, joint replacements, balance and confidence all change what makes sense.
Balance training runs alongside it: narrowed stance work, head turns, reaching outside your base, stepping reactions, and getting up and down off the floor. Falls are what turn low bone density into a fracture, so this is not an add-on.
Movements we take care with
Loaded end-range spinal flexion is the main one. Repeated forceful forward bending and twisting under load can be a problem for people with vertebral fragility, so sit-ups, weighted toe touches and aggressive rotation machines usually get replaced with anti-rotation and extension-based trunk work. If you have had a vertebral fracture, we adjust more conservatively and work closely with what your GP or specialist has advised.
We also look at everyday loading. How you lift a laundry basket, get a suitcase into the car boot, or pick up a grandchild matters more over a year than any single exercise.
Home visits and funding
Home visits work well for this if travel is difficult or you would rather train with what you already have. We bring dumbbells, bands and a step, and we build the program around your hallway, kitchen bench, stairs and chair height.
Funding usually comes through one of three routes. Your GP may refer you under a Medicare chronic condition management plan, which attracts a rebate for a limited number of allied health sessions each calendar year. NDIS participants with plan-managed or self-managed funding can use capacity building supports for exercise physiology. Many private health funds include exercise physiology under extras, and we can check the item numbers with you before you commit.
When to speak to your GP first
New, sudden mid-back pain, pain that wakes you at night, unexplained height loss of more than a few centimetres, or a fall you cannot explain all warrant a medical review before starting or continuing a program. Same if you have not had a bone density scan and have risk factors such as long-term corticosteroid use, early menopause, coeliac disease or a parental hip fracture.
If you would like your bone density result turned into a specific training plan, book an initial assessment and we will start with the measurements.