Weighted vest? Vibrational plates? OsteoStrong?

[HappyGranny55]

Wondering if anyone has tried any of these, or other, devices/programs. Research is limited. I’ve exhausted everything else (nutrition, supplements, exercise) except medication, and looking for a different and safe approach that is not a money-making gimmick. Thoughts?

[Fruitandnutcase]

I’ve got a weighted vest - I like it but at the moment I’m not using it. I need to take some of the little weights out - I fell over onto my tailbone with a lot of force and fractured my sacrum this time last year and I don’t feel the extra weight does me much good. Like I say I ought to take a lot of the weights out because I love wearing it - it’s aHypervest, it’s very well made and feels nice and snug on.

I’ve recently bought a Marodyne LiV machine. I really like it but I found the full ten minutes a bit much to start with so I’ve gone back to three minutes and I’ll gradually build up to the full ten minutes a day. Unfortunately I’ve not had it long enough to tell you more than that. I’m hopeful though.

[Ruth-S]

Hi, I share your feelings. I just completed 6 mos of OsteoStrong and my 20-minute weekly session there included use of the vibrational plate, four machines, a bio charger, and another energy mat treatment (that I can't explain). I have taken a break from OsteoStrong because the office is a 30 minute drive from my home and a 6-month membership here costs $1,000. I use a weighted vest, as prescribed by Dr. Susan Brown of Better Bones. I try to get my minerals and Vitamins from food, but also take what Dr. Brown has advised for my condition - Ionized Mag; Calcium; Vit K2, Resveratrol, Buffered Ascorbate Vit C. I try to eat California prunes, Brazil nuts, and use a lot of Type 1 and multi type collagens/protein in my daily shakes. My DEXA scan at age 55 in 2019 was -4.2 for spine, -3.7 for hip. I refused bisphosphonates b/c my mom and grandmother did poorly on these drugs (mom got osteonecrosis and both had multiple compression fractures while on Fosamax). I was treated with the Tymlos patch for one year, as part of a Phase 3 Clinical Study that the endocrinologist talked me into, but I refused to take Alendronic Acid or Fosamax afterward - the doctor had indicated before treatment that "we'll see" whether I would need to take those drugs, so I thought that was a "we'll see" not a "you have to." My DEXA after the Tymlos was -3.3 for the spine and -2.7 for the hip, so the Tymlos did work well - and I am trying to not lose that progress, even as I do not want to take the bisphosphonates. I will have my yearly DEXA in July. I row crew, walk and hike, and ride my bike a lot. The one broken bone was a vertebra endcap compression - no other broken bones in my life and I'm active. All this to say, maybe the OsteoStrong/weighted vest are helping. I also welcome any ideas about how to build bone after menopause. It is possible --- despite what the endocrinologists say. There are exercise studies from Australia that show post-menopausal women building BMD and quality bone. Thanks.

[HappyGranny55 in reply to Ruth-S]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It is nice to know we are not alone in this quest. I try to rely on sound scientific research before spending any money or putting myself at risk, and I can’t seem to locate much regarding these approaches. Of course, it’s easy to find anecdotal evidence, but I don’t feel confident relying on that. I’m kicking the meds down the road another year, but I want to change something in the meantime. Enrolling in strength training and balance classes, increasing Vit D/K/Mg and trying not to let a -3.2 lumbar BMD make me feel frail, because I am NOT.

[dcdream in reply to Ruth-S]

can you share the link to that research about building bone after menopause?

[Raleigh59 in reply to Ruth-S]

I might like to do that Tymlos patch - is the study in a current clinical trial ?

[FearFracture]

HappyGranny88, when you say you have exhausted everything else, do you mean that you’ve changed your diet and supplements and that has not improved your BMD?

The only vibration plate I would consider is the Marodyne LiV (low intensity vibration) plate. I have not tried it but the research seems solid. It’s hard to find personal testimonies for it and that is somewhat of a negative, in my opinion. On Inspire.com several years ago one person posted that her mother had success using the Marodyne LiV.

Regarding OsteoStrong,me, there is not an OsteoStrong where I live and the closest one is 4 hours away so it’s really not an option for me, however, when I was visiting family in a city w/ an OsteoStrong, I signed up for a visit. From what I seen on the website and my experience using their equipment, if there were an Osteostrong within 2 hours of my home I would be willing to day trip it one day a week to join their program. When I asked my endocrinologist if he was familiar w/ Osteostrong he said no and when I told him it was basically osteogenic loading, he said he had looked into buying osteogenic loading equipment for his practice—I interpret that to me he thinks osteogenic loading can work. I think it’s probably possible to achieve the same results with weights but you have to be dedicated and careful.

[HappyGranny55 in reply to FearFracture]

I don’t know what else to change about nutrition….eat a plant based/dairy/fish diet, with ample Calcium and supplement with D,MK-7, Mg. So many different viewpoints about meat-no meat, dairy-no dairy, extra Boron or Strontium or Zinc…..overwhelming, so I think I’m ok there. The Marodyne is what I am looking at….expensive….and there is an OsteoStrong center near me, also expensive…If you have links to research for either, I’d be interested. I’ve read the NASA research on the Marodyne, but data seems scarce for post menopausal women, but can’t find any for OsteoStrong. I’d be willing to spend some money on either if the data looks solid. Thanks for you help!

[FearFracture in reply to HappyGranny55]

I don't have any supporting research for OsteoStrong. The thing that "sold me" on their program is on their website. If you go to OsteoStong.me and click on THE EXPERIENCE tab and select OSTEOSTRONG SCIENCE and scroll down and select the OSTEOSTRONG AND THYROID ISSUES video clip, this is the video that made me think they might be on to something. I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis (hypothyroidism). In this video the founder pretty much says if clients are able to meet the load threshold to build bone and after a year are not building bone then that is an indication that something else is going on, and that he was surprised that they were discovering these "hidden" health conditions via the osteostong program.

The Osteostrong program is once a week and it only takes about 10 minutes. In my opinion, totally worth a try and if there were one in my city or within 2 hours of my city, I would have already joined. They offer one free session to check it out. If there is one near you take them up on the offer and see what you think. Additionally, although I don't have any research I can point you to but Dr. Brown of BetterBones.com and the Caltons caltonnutrition.com/categor... recommend OsteoStrong.

From my own reading and research what I have decided is that osteoporosis is NOT a normal aging process. If osteoporosis were normal, everyone would suffer from it. Additionally, it seems to affect ppl who have adopted more of a US type lifestyle, which means it has to be something we are going or aren't doing or something we are exposed to that is causing this, or a mix of these things. There is one solutions for all of us. My approach with dealing with my bone loss is to try a few things see if it works and then tweak what I can. You might want to read a little about Dr. Terry Wahls' terrywahls.com/ She was in great shape, ate a vegetarian diet, and developed MS and ended up in a wheelchair. She changed her diet, is no longer a vegetarian, eats meat and organ meat, and has pretty much reversed her MS--she no longer needs a wheelchair. The point is we aren't all the same so the only option we have is to try a variety of things and hope for the best.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to FearFracture]

“Additionally, it seems to affect ppl who have adopted more of a US type lifestyle, which means it has to be something we are going or aren't doing or something we are exposed to that is causing this, or a mix of these things. There is one solutions for all of us.”

Can I ask what you mean by osteoporosis “seems to affect ppl who have adopted more of a US type of lifestyle”?

I really can’t think what you mean by that comment.

If you mean a lifestyle of fast food and not getting enough physical exercise which is the only thing I can imagine you can mean - then I can’t agree with that comment.

In my own case my grandparents and parents ate a very healthy diet, my grandmother grew all her own food, our family didn’t eat junk food - we kids didn’t even have many sweets and no fizzy drinks - I don’t think junk / fast food had been heard of back then - and we’re of the generation that didn’t have modern labour saving household gadgets so lots of physical and weight bearing exercise were their lifestyle.

I don’t know for sure but judging from family members with osteopenia/ osteoporosis I’d say osteoporosis has been around for a long time - long before people discovered fast food and stopped getting enough exercise.

Sorry, I’ve just realised you are based in the US - I’m in the U.K.

[FearFracture in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

I used the terminology “US life style” because I couldn’t remember the proper phrasing, maybe they say Western lifestyle but when I looked that up it literally showed cowboys and American Indians so anyways…

In everything that I’ve read, including books by Dr. Terri Wahls, Dr. Susan Brown, and the Calton’s, everything seems to point to the modern diet and life style as being a major factor in low bone density. In Dr. Brown’s Better Bones, Better Body she writes “the inhabitants of Singapore overall, Hong Kong, certain sectors of former Yugoslavia, as well as the Bantu of South Africa have extremely low rates of osteoporotic fracture” and “In Japan, vertebral compression fractures among women fifty to sixty-five are so rare that many physicians doubt their existence, and the incidence of hip fractures among the elderly Japanese is much less than half that in Western countries.”

In big cities where people are more exposed to western culture ( as cities around the world become more westernized) osteoporosis rates generally increase.

There may be a genetic component to osteoporosis and some people might get it and not be able to reverse it because of genetics but based on my reading the rate of osteoporosis seems to be accelerating due to environmental factors.

The standard American diet (SAD) is just that, SAD. I have never eaten the standard American diet, meaning my diet has always been a healthier diet. My 2 biggest vices were caffeine and carbonated beverages. I gave up caffeinated soft drinks years ago but continued to drink caffeine-free colas and 1/2 caf coffee until recently when I quit them both in an attempt to help my bones. I’ve also always had an active lifestyle. In addition to regular exercise, many of my jobs have been physically demanding. I now believe that I simply wasn’t getting enough nutrients to help keep my bones healthy. Most Americans (possibly most Brits but I don’t know enough about the everyday meals/habits to make that assumption) don’t get the American RDA (recommended daily allowances) of vitamins and minerals.

Americans and many modern societies tend to have more sedentary lifestyles.

When you say older members of your family had osteoporosis, how were they diagnosed? My grandmother died in 1995. She probably had low bone density but was never officially diagnosed with osteoporosis. I think the WHO came up with the actual classifications for osteoporosis right around that time. Note, my grandmother ate a healthy diet, was 5’2”, of European decent, weighed 100 lbs, rarely ate fast food, was a lifelong smoker, started every day w/ coffee and ended every day with a scotch and soda. Although her meals were balanced meals, the smoking didn’t do her bones any favors, and she ate like a bird so she was probably missing key nutrients and wasn’t getting enough protein. My grandmother had emphysema, from the smoking, and when she was 79 she experienced a vertebral fracture, which landed her in the hospital, and as with many older smokers, being in bed for a few days flat on her back didn’t help and she died. Because of her smoking, the vertebral fracture did her in.

In one sense, I could say maybe low bone density is in my genes, but when I really look at my Grandmother’s habits (note she was a lovely prim and proper lady and she wasn’t slinging back shots in a saloon) I think that there were life style choices, predominantly the smoking, that most likely contributed to what I’m guessing was osteoporosis.

I hope I’m right. I’ve made so many adjustments to my diet, including adding more supplements, and to my exercise regime, and I hope that the things I am doing can make a difference, that I’m not just doomed because of genetics.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to FearFracture]

I think modern farming methods have a lot to answer for as I’m not sure foods have the same ‘goodness’ they used to have in the past. So although we are trying to eat a healthy diet - are w being hampered by the food we eat just not producing the vitamins and minerals we expect to be getting because the nourishment that should come from the soil is no longer there. I agree about smoking - my aunt who died from osteoporosis - chest infection then hospital a bit like your grandmother - anyway although she was fit, active and very stylish, she smoked for years so that must have been a contributory factor.

I’m doing what you are, making adjustments to my diet and exercise and hoping the things I’m doing are making a difference.

As for genetics - I’m just wondering - if a relative who has osteoporosis also has unhealthy habits (smoking) which I have never had - I don’t smoke or drink how strong is the hereditary link?

I just wonder about the research into osteoporosis - if it carried out by drug companies there really isn’t much incentive to look into treatments other than by strong drugs and there doesn’t seem t be much recent independent research be8ng done.

[Happy6712]

I have read all of your replies and questions. Always good to hear from others. I have a question, have any of you done lab work to determine the cause of your bone loss? What were you results and what did you do then? Curious.

[HappyGranny55 in reply to Happy6712]

I’ve had the following tests: CBC, Metabolic Panel, Ionized Ca, 24-hr urine, Mg, Phosphorus, Parathyroid Hormone, TSH, 25-OH Vit D, and awaiting the NTX. I’ve never had digestive issues, so we skipped the celiac test. The Vitamin D result was in the low end of normal, so I upped the supplement a bit, but everything else was fine.

[2019pro]

Just got my LIV and started using it in hopes it will help. Also, had a hip replaced in Feb 2022 & joined Osteostrong in May 2022 and truly enjoy that. Haven't had a bone scan since 2021, so interested in seeing if anything has improved! I think I have one in March maybe this year and will advise!