Osteofit

Osteofit is a community-based exercise program designed to improve strength, balance and coordination in addition to functional ability, independence, and quality of life in those with osteoporosis and osteopenia. Osteoporosis or "porous bone" is a disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue. By strengthening bones and educating their participants, Osteofit reduces the risk of falling and the number of osteoporotic fractures in these individuals. Osteofit is a secondary intervention program in which exercise, educational discussions and community resources are the essential components of each class session and of the program as a whole. Ultimately Osteofit tries to create a supportive environment where everyone can have fun and meet others, while being able to receive personal, individualized exercise and education.

At the beginning of each Osteofit class a different topic related to living with osteoporosis is presented. Prepared by the Osteoporosis Program at British Columbia Women's Hospital, each topic is meant to create an opportunity to learn how to live with osteoporosis and to meet others facing similar challenges, while addressing any concerns and questions that may arise. Participants also learn what community resources are available to them. The class then moves on to exercises that are tailored to meet everyone’s level and needs; because there is a low instructor to participant ratio, everyone is able to get personal attention. Each class includes a warm-up followed by stretching and strengthening exercises that might involve using weights, bands, and/or bean bags. The class then ends with a relaxation exercise and visualization.

Osteofit is a medically endorsed program based on published research and Osteofit classes are facilitated by registered and certified Osteofit instructors. Two levels of participation have been implemented in order to address the need of a community-accessible program, which prevents falls in people with osteoporosis and osteopenia. Osteofit Level 1 is an introduction to exercise and is offered twice a week for a minimum of 6 weeks. Each class is one hour long and focuses on improving strength, posture, balance and agility, through the use of functional exercises, agility activities, resistance training, and appropriate stretches. The classes also include an educational component with topics on fracture prevention and healthy living. Osteofit for Life (Level 2) is an ongoing program that is also offered twice a week and is a more challenging version of Level 1.

To reduce and prevent falls in people with osteoporosis and osteopenia through exercise and education.

The Osteofit program was evaluated by a randomized controlled trial. When compared to the controls, program participants showed greater improvements in static balance, dynamic balance and knee length extension; however, improvements were not significantly greater than those in the control group (p-value > 0.05). After adjusting these comparisons for other factors (physical activity, cognitive status and number of fractures ever), the improvement in knee extension strength was significantly greater (12.8%) in the intervention group than in the control group (p-value = 0.047).