What I Learnt about Exercise and Osteoporosis

Incredibly grateful to have been able to complete this Fracture Prevention Training with the Royal Osteoporosis Society.

I thought it was brilliantly delivered and I took some unexpected learnings from it. My top three most valuable would be:

- How to know if someone should be training with me (a personal trainer), or if they should be referred for a specific fracture clinic in more severe cases. It was awesome to understand the pathways available should I need to refer out at any point.

- The effect of vision and hearing on falls risk, as well as how risk changes over the lifespan AND how some of the assessment tools are used to decide on someone's risk

- That sometimes a fall is actually a sign of syncope - not something I'd be diagnosing of course, but an interesting perspective that gets my science and client-outcomes brain interested.

While the course is aimed at healthcare professionals rather than personal trainers, it helps me a lot to understand the entire clinical landscape so I can be most helpful when it comes to coaching these individuals in the gym, and know when to refer out more confidently too.

It was great to hear that the evidence is supporting exercise on the whole as a great thing to be doing, even for those who already have osteoporosis, and it was nice to get the confirmation that the kinds of exercise I prioritise with clients are in line with the recommendations - these being strength, balance and general fitness too.

I was also really pleased to see such an extensive nutrition and medication section which gives me so much optimism for the future of how this condition is treated!