You Might As Well Jump

For many years, Tom Derderian, Greater Boston Track Club Coach and author of a history of the Boston Marathon, used to end most of our conversations with a farewell and a cheerful warning. "Take Care of Your Bones!" he would say, as we parted.

That seemed like really good advice, but how, exactly, was I supposed to take care of my bones? Drink more mile? Run on grass and trails? Avoid falling down stairs?

Recently the New York Times tackled the question of what exercises are (and aren't) associated with good bone health.

The Best Exercises for Healthy Bones

According to the article, there is still considerable uncertainty about what exercises help promote bone density, and what exercises and activities can have the opposite effect:

"...scientists actually seem to be becoming less certain about how exercise affects bone. Until fairly recently, many thought that the pounding or impact that you get from running, for instance, deformed the bone slightly. It bowed in response to the forces moving up the leg from the ground, stretching the various bone cells and forcing them to adapt, usually by adding cells, which made the bone denser... But many scientists now think that that process doesn’t apply to bones."

The article goes on to make a surprising suggestion that should be welcome news for anyone who does plyometrics on a regular basis:

"...the current state-of-the-science message about exercise and bone building may be that, silly as it sounds, the best exercise is to simply jump up and down, for as long as the downstairs neighbor will tolerate.." assuming, of course, that your bones are healthy to begin with.

Of course, there's the rub. The exercises that promote bone density may also be the ones that are more stressful, and therefore are more risky when over-used.