{"id":277012,"date":"2026-02-02T15:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/277012\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T15:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:42:12","slug":"how-to-keep-your-bones-strong-and-healthy-in-midlife-and-beyond-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/277012\/","title":{"rendered":"How to keep your bones strong and healthy in midlife and beyond \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we move into midlife, issues such as joint pain, osteoporosis and stress fractures become increasingly common, making this a crucial time to take a more proactive approach to bone health.<\/p>\n

Hormonal changes during menopause, along with a natural decline in activity levels, can all contribute \u2013 but the good news is that simple lifestyle changes can help counteract these effects.<\/p>\n

We spoke to Surrey-based physiotherapist Lucy Macdonald from Restart Physio<\/a> to find out how to keep your bones strong and healthy in midlife and beyond, and to discover why prioritising bone health at this stage in life really matters.<\/p>\n

What bone issues become more prevalent in midlife and beyond?<\/p>\n

\"Skoda’s<\/a>\"BYD<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOsteopenia, which is often a precursor to osteoporosis, is more prevalent in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women due to the drop in their oestrogen levels [a hormone that is essential for healthy bones] that happens during menopause,\u201d says Macdonald.<\/p>\n

Osteoporosis causes bones to become weaker and more fragile, according to the NHS website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The physiotherapist adds that stress fractures are also more common in older adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are young and suddenly go for a long run, you\u2019re less likely to get a stress fracture compared to someone who is older who goes for a long run, because their bones just won\u2019t be as resilient to the load unless they have been regularly running or doing strength training,\u201d says Macdonald.<\/p>\n

\u201cStress fractures can be hugely rehabilitating and can stop people from being able to enjoy their day-to-day activities due to the pain and reduction in function.\u201d<\/p>\n

To prevent this, here are Macdonald\u2019s top tips on how to keep your bones strong and healthy in midlife and beyond\u2026<\/p>\n

Do regular impact exercises<\/p>\n

\u201cImpact activity is really important for bones because when you jump about on your bones, they bones regenerate,\u201d says Macdonald. \u201cYou can even start with doing some sit-to-stand exercises in bed as a warm up and then a few little bunny hops on the spot every morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start strength training<\/p>\n

\"\"(Alamy Stock Photo) <\/p>\n

\u201cStrength training is also really good for bone density because whenever you contract a muscle with force, that muscle, via a tendon, will pull on the bone, and that pulling on the bone is good for bone regeneration,\u201d says Macdonald. \u201cSo, it\u2019s good to do a combination of impact exercise and strength training.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve done no exercise in the last few years, then I would recommend starting with the strength and conditioning first, with a nice resistance training programme, and then moving onto more impact stuff as and when you\u2019re strong enough to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remember to incorporate recovery days into your training plan<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can make good progress with strength training if you do it a couple of times a week, but make sure you are also giving yourself some days to recover,\u201d advises Macdonald. \u201cRest is a really important part of the process of becoming stronger, especially if you\u2019re training the muscles heavy enough that you\u2019re getting muscle soreness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find an exercise that you enjoy<\/p>\n

\"\"(Alamy Stock Photo) <\/p>\n

\u201cFind something that you enjoy,\u201d encourages Macdonald. \u201cIf you\u2019re not necessarily into running, then something like a Zumba or dance class can be really good for jumping around to music.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you commit to doing it with a friend or a group of people, you\u2019re much more likely to stick to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Incorporate progressive overload to avoid injury<\/p>\n

\u201cStart slowly and build up your training and exercises in small increments, so that your bones gradually get stronger and stronger over time,\u201d recommends Macdonald. \u201cIf you go from nothing to suddenly doing a lot of impact exercise, that can increase your risk of a stress fracture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quit smoking<\/p>\n

\u201cSmoking is really bad for your bone health,\u201d says Macdonald. \u201cReduced bone density is one of the established negative effects of smoking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prioritise sleep<\/p>\n

\"\"(Alamy Stock Photo) <\/p>\n

\u201cSleep is when our bones and muscles recover,\u201d explains Macdonald. \u201cIf you\u2019re not getting a decent night\u2019s sleep, then your recovery will not be as good and your cell regeneration won\u2019t be as good.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vast majority of us need eight hours sleep, so try to prioritise things that help you get as much sleep as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eat a balanced diet<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure you are eating a decent diet with enough protein and are having minimal processed food, as sugar and processed food are not good for muscle or bone recovery,\u201d says Macdonald. \u201cDon\u2019t underestimate the importance of all the nutrients that come with vegetables, fruits, dairy, whole foods and good fats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seek professional help<\/p>\n

\"IfIf you are feeling under confident or are worried about getting injured, seek professional help (Alamy\/A) (Alamy Stock Photo) <\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the guidance of someone who fully understands the physiology of your body and can pitch the exercise at exactly the right level for you can be very helpful and reassuring,\u201d says Macdonald.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As we move into midlife, issues such as joint pain, osteoporosis and stress fractures become increasingly common, making…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3354,54825,103,109038,61,134576,60,128710,53333,2682,2854,1577],"class_list":["post-277012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-bone-health","tag-bones","tag-health","tag-health-lifestyle","tag-ie","tag-impact-activity","tag-ireland","tag-midlife","tag-physiotherapist","tag-protein","tag-strength-training","tag-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}