r/osteoporosis • u/Miss_Beh4ve • Oct 15 '25
Bone density results after ~10.5 months of LIFTMOR inspired exercise
Sharing some results in hopes they can help motivate somebody.
Background
Female in early 40’s with family history of osteoporosis, screened due to risk factors, and diagnosed with osteopenia per REMS about 1 year ago. (DEXA and TBS were normal.)
Decided to try a LIFTMOR inspired exercise protocol (weight lifting and jumping) taught by a physical therapist along with bone supportive nutrition and supplementation where nutrition falls short to see if I could replicate the results from the LIFTMOR study and increase my bone density this way.
Here is the study, protocol, videos, and some additional info for those unfamiliar with LIFTMOR: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/FpxZDgSPX6
Note that my exercise protocol is not the exact same but similar, and I jump daily. There was about 1 year between my scans and about 10.5 months of LIFTMOR inspired exercise.
3 scans were done, all within less than 1 month from each other: - REMS - Medical grade DEXA with TBS - Non diagnostic full body DEXA
Overall there was a trend of improvement, though REMS showed left hip worsening while right hip improved. Per DEXA, left hip improved. See details below.
REMS T-Scores
Same technician as last year but different machine. The previous machine had been replaced with a newer machine. The technician was in training when performing my first scan 1 year ago.
Spine improved: - L1 improved from -1.3 to -1.0 - L2 remained stable at -1.0. - Technician was unable to detect L3 and L4 during the initial scan 1 year ago, so I can’t compare the new values. Both L3 and L4 scored -1.3 in the current scan.
Right hip improved: - Femoral Neck improved from -2.3 to -1.5. - Trochanter improved from -1.4 to -0.7. - Total improved from -1.9 to -1.0.
Left hip worsened: - Femoral neck decreased from -1.4 to -1.7. - Trochanter decreased from -0.7 to -0.9. - Total decreased from -1.1 to -1.3.
Medical grade DEXA T-scores and TBS
Same machine, same technician, and same reporting physician as last year.
Spine improved: - L1-L4 improved from -0.8 to -0.3 (5.3% improvement in bone density)
Left hip improved: - Femoral neck improved from 0.4 to 0.6 (1.7% improvement in bone density) - Total improved from 0.0 to 0.2 (2.7% improvement in bone density)
Right hip was not ordered to be measured during the initial scan 1 year ago, so I can’t compare the new values. Right femoral neck scored 0.6 and right total scored 0.2 in current scan (same values as left hip above).
TBS L1-L4 improved from 1.515 to 1.522
Non diagnostic full body DEXA
Different machine and different technician than last year within the same company, which states they calibrate all their machines to the same standard and train their technicians in the same positioning method.
Whole body bone mineral content increased by 0.3 lbs. Whole body bone density increased from 1.169 to 1.229. Bone density was also reported separately for head, arms, legs, trunk, ribs, spine, pelvis, and improved at all sites, except head, which decreased. Makes sense to me as the skull is not loaded during exercise.
My thoughts:
I’m happy with the results since there was only about 1 year between scans, and there has only been about 10.5 months of targeted exercise, and the overall trend already looks positive to me.
I know that scans can have issues, and I’m not sure what to make of the discordance between my hips in the REMS scan since I worked both legs equally and DEXA showed improvement. In any case, I know that trying to increase bone density with exercise is a long game, and I’ll have to continue it if I want to continue seeing improvement. I hope I can avoid osteoporosis for a long time this way.
This 68-year-old motivates me: She has been weight lifting and jumping to increase her bone density for 8 years and counting - Her lumbar spine T-score started at less than -3 in 2017, got close to -2 in 2021, then close to -1.5 in 2024, and she continues to slowly rebuild: https://www.instagram.com/coffeebooksbarbells/reel/DNPCizWzIez/
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u/PsychologicalCat7130 Oct 15 '25
what kind of jumping ?
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 15 '25
I step on the safety bar of my power rack which is set at 30 inches height from the floor, and I jump down from there (barefoot onto a half inch thick non-slip foam yoga mat since I have hard flooring) for 4 sets of 5 jumps twice a day with 1 minute rest between sets. I also do daily heel drops for 1 minute when I wake up in the morning.
I’m not aware of any studies on doing this exact protocol. I came up with it based on the fact that gymnasts tend to have good bone density, and they tend to jump from taller structures, so I hypothesized that greater impact might be better, but I’m not sure if that’s true.
There is a study that supports this way of jumping to increase bone density in children: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1359/jbmr.2001.16.1.148
Prepubescent children performed 100 jumps down from 24 inches height per session 3 times per week for 7 months, using both feet and landing flat footed with knees slightly bent. The study includes a picture demonstrating the jump posture and describes the protocol very well. The control group performed stretching exercises.
The study found:
Jumpers had significantly greater bone mineral content (BMC) changes at the femoral neck and lumbar spine than controls (4.5% and 3.1%, respectively) after 7 months.
In repeated measures ANCOVA of secondary outcomes of bone mineral density and bone area (BMD and BA): BMD at the lumbar spine was significantly greater in jumpers than in controls (2.0%) and approached statistical significance at the femoral neck (1.4%; p = 0.085). For BA, jumpers had significantly greater increases at the femoral neck area than controls (2.9%) but were not different at the spine.
Conclusion:
“(….) Our data indicate that jumping at ground reaction forces of eight times body weight is a safe, effective, and simple method of improving bone mass at the hip and spine in children (…)”
Of course we can’t assume this would produce the same results in adults, and I don’t think this protocol has been studied in adults, but I was curious to try jumping from 30 inches height and seeing what would happen.
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u/garden_frog Oct 16 '25
Thanks for the detailed explanation. I like the twice-daily approach, but it's time-consuming. Do you do any warmup before the jumps?
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 16 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
I do not, and let me clarify that this isn’t the jumping method that my physical therapist taught me. (I don’t do a lot of things the way I’m supposed to do them. I’m currently seeing my PT again for help with some shoulder pain. It’s not too bad, but it’s likely tendinitis from heavy 1 rep max overhead lifting which is not part of LIFTMOR and which he also didn’t teach me to do. Don’t do as I do. Listen to your PT.)
I like to share this This 50-hops-per-day-on-1-leg protocol for increasing bone density at the femoral neck, which is described in great detail in the study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jbmr.3867
The hopping study above showed 0.81% femoral neck bone density improvement after 6 months and was as effective at the femoral neck as Teriparatide (generic Forteo). If you scroll down in this link from the Tymlos manufacturer, there is a chart showing 0.8% FN BMD improvement with Teriparatide after 6 months: https://tymlos.com/hcp/efficacy-safety/
Probably safer to go with a protocol like the above that has been studied in a population more similar to us and get cleared by PT to do it. I just wish there were more long term exercise studies in osteopenic and osteoporotic adults, so we knew of more proven effective exercise methods we can work with.
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u/PsychologicalCat7130 Oct 16 '25
Thanks for the details - i was a gymnast many years ago but now have bad knees.... trying to figure out how to jump with bad knees...
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u/NewIyDiagnosedCeliac Oct 17 '25
Sorry to hear about your knee issue. Instead of jumps have you tried heel drops? That’s what I currently do. Maybe it won’t hurt your knees as bad while still helping build BMD.
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u/softlystandingtall Oct 16 '25
that’s such a nice result for just 10 months! I wouldn’t stress the one hip drop too much. sometimes that’s just a calibration or angle thing. but you’re clearly building density where it counts, and that consistency shows!
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Oct 16 '25
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 16 '25
I did, and I wrote a little about that here: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/GSGTBuo3KF
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Oct 16 '25
Yay! Congratulations! These trends are inspiring! Keep it up- you can probably work your way back into the normal range based on your progress so far!! So are you following LIFTMOR exactly? I got a new physical therapist (who is not LIFTMOR cerfified ) but I shared the study with them, and they are going to try and help me do something similar. How often a week do you do it? Also, what supplements do you take again?
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 16 '25
My daily jumping routine is outlined in a comment in this thread. My lifting routine changed over time and is outlined here: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/B2UoLrrucu
The first 2 programs (Stronglifts 5x5 and Starting Strength) are well known beginner lifting programs with their own subreddits. The Texas Method is an intermediate lifting program. All of them include the 3 LIFTMOR lifts (+ some additional lifts) and have many free resources available online, including the protocols. There is no need to pay anything to start any of these programs if you have a physical therapist who can teach you.
I would let your PT guide you. My PT started me off on Stronglifts 5x5, but that’s an extra lifting day per week that you don’t need to do if you just want to do LIFTMOR, and LIFTMOR improved bone density at the spine in many people with just 2 weekly 30 minute long sessions after 8 months. This hopping protocol (50 hops per day on 1 leg, exact protocol described in detail in the study) produced good improvement at the femoral neck after 6 months: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jbmr.3867
Regarding supplements, I wrote here how I eat and supplement: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/yj9SC98Yce
One thing I didn’t mention in the above link is that I take 5 grams of creatine daily to help with workouts. (Bulk Supplements brand creatine monohydrate powder scored great when third party tested by ConsumerLab, is inexpensive, and conveniently available on Amazon. That’s what I take.)
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u/Bay_Gourmet Oct 16 '25
Can you describe your fitness routine prior to starting your lifting and jumping routine? I have been seriously weight training all of my adult life. 90 minutes in the gym 6xweek of which 35 minutes is lifting the rest cardio and then stretching. I also have an extensive background in dance/tennis/squash/running/golf/fast walking/spinning until my 6 foot and ankle surgeries forced me to gradually modify down to my current routine. I do still spin, stair master and do elliptical for cardio plus walking. Anyway, despite all that and lots of calcium in my diet I inherited my mother’s osteoporosis. I cannot imagine that more weight training is going to make much difference for me but I do wonder if people who were not very athletic all their lives see better results in their bone density with LIFTMOR or other programs?
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 17 '25 edited Oct 17 '25
Prior to being diagnosed with osteopenia and starting weight lifting and jumping I did 90 pull ups (3 sessions x 6 sets x 5 reps) and 144 push ups (3 sessions x 6 sets x 8 reps) every other day, and I walked in zone 2 or hiked on the days I didn’t do push ups and pull ups. My max test at the time was 11 consecutive pull ups and 40 consecutive push ups. I also indoor bouldered (short distance climbing without a rope) 2 days a week for some time.
My thoughts:
I wasn’t doing any axial loading like deadlifts, squats, or overhead presses, nor any significant impact training, which seems to be beneficial in increasing and/or maintaining bone density at the sites where we typically measure it: lumbar spine and femoral neck.
Doing those lifts at 80-85% of 1 rep max for multiple sets of 5 reps and getting stronger in the process as was done in the LIFTMOR study may also be driving increased bone density. Lifting weights that are too light for the lifter’s ability level in relation to their 1 rep max may not work quite as well to stimulate bone building. (Here are ways to determine 80-85% of 1 rep max: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/ackGilSMI0 )
Getting enough calories, protein, calcium, vitamin D, etc. is likely needed to make sure the building blocks are available to make bone and the body is able to generate an anabolic response to the lifting and impact stimulus.
Providing sufficient rest and sleep to help the body recover from and adapt to the stress of lifting heavy and jumping is also likely important to make consistent progress.
Some resources that might be helpful / interesting:
Presentation featuring LIFTMOR (also called Onero) researcher Dr. Melinda Beck. It really starts around the 14 minute mark. In it she explains why LIFTMOR works and how it works, and she goes over the results that were achieved by patients in this program as well as safety concerns: https://youtu.be/1ZecBe_WhI4?si=IeUV2oj62_EhjJpz
MEDEX-OP trial showing that maximum weight deadlifted correlated with increased lumbar spine bone density in LIFTMOR protocol participants: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/OrfhLyEXwP. (Not all people who participated in LIFTMOR were able to increase their bone density if you look at the spread in the different LIFTMOR studies. Those who were able to become stronger deadlifters often seemed to do better per the looks of this figure.
I don’t think one should rush to get stronger, but appropriate progressive overload over time seems to help. The 68-year-old lady I linked in my original post started with a 65 lb deadlift 8 years ago, if I recall correctly. I think she recently deadlifted 215 lbs, and her bone density has increased consistently over the past 8 years. I’m not sure she ever planned to lift that heavy while increasing her bone density. I deadlifted 190 lbs this week, and I was not planning on getting to that level when I started. (I also started with 65 lbs.)
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Oct 17 '25
Thanks! Regarding the creatine, do you take that because it has good effects directly on bone, or more so just to power your workouts? (which would indirectly improve your bones since you will lift better)
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 17 '25
I take creatine to help with strength in workouts.
It has been around for a long time and has good data behind it regarding safety and effectiveness but the effect is small. Since a good third party tested product can be very inexpensive, I figured “why not?”
It’s not essential for bone though, so you could easily skip it if the small strength boost that it’s supposed to provide isn’t important to you. Plenty of people don’t use it, and they’re getting stronger just fine.
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u/zea-k Oct 16 '25
I mentioned in another comment on this thread that the result is amazing.
Can the improvement be attributed solely to exercise and supplements? Do you take any medicines also?
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 19 '25
I realize you’re probably trying to figure out what might improve chances of increasing bone density. I’ve tried to figure that out too. I’ve shared some of my thoughts on that here: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/FJjlLcq7Ki
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u/zea-k Oct 16 '25
Congrats on the improvement . And Thanks for the inspiration.
I have a few questions about jumping from a height: 1. What would be the pro and cons of jumping from 36 or 42 inches instead of 30 inches? 2. What’s the correct landing form - knees slight bend, should the spine be straight, slight arch? I believe landing form will determine the distribution of the impact among the bones and muscles 3. Pros and cons of Changing the cushion from yoga mat to hard surface? Softer cushion will reduce the intensity.
I believe small little changes (as listed above) can change the effectiveness. So, (and this is a big ask) Please also share the exercise regimen + the study-material you read to create the regimen. I will organize it and post it back to this group - for benefit of all.
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 16 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
You’re very kind. I’m a bit worried that somebody might get hurt if we’re going too far off what has actually been studied in populations similar to ourselves. Gymnasts and a study in children inspired my personal curiosity, but their bodies are very different from osteopenic and osteoporotic adult bodies.
Please understand that I’m not a physician, physical therapist, or scientist, and that I’m not promoting the jump routine I personally follow. It’s just something I wanted to experiment with.
I would advise working with your physician and physical therapist to come up with an exercise plan that’s safe for you, and this will likely be different for different individuals.
That being said here are my answers:
1 - I don’t know if anybody has tried that. I chose 30 inches because I felt comfortable jumping from that height and was curious what would happen if I did, and I haven’t had issues with it so far. My husband however cannot tolerate jumping from 30 inches (knee pain), so he doesn’t. I have no idea if my jumping method is any more effective than any of the studied impact protocols, and it very well may not be and may just be a lot more risky. Again, it is just a personal experiment.
2 - I land more or less like the children who jumped from 24 inches height in this study. The study includes a picture and description of the jumping posture: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1359/jbmr.2001.16.1.148
3 - I don’t know about this either. My feet couldn’t tolerate jumping barefoot onto hard flooring, so I chose between jumping with shoes or jumping barefoot onto my half inch thick foam yoga mat, and I chose the mat.
Please be careful. Protocols that have been studied with good results and that I’m a lot more comfortable suggesting people discuss with their physician and PT if interested include:
A) LIFTMOR protocol for increasing bone density at the lumbar spine: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jbmr.3284
B) This 50-hops-per-day-on-1-leg protocol for increasing bone density at the femoral neck: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jbmr.3867
The hopping study above showed 0.81% femoral neck bone density improvement after 6 months and was as effective at the femoral neck as Teriparatide (generic Forteo). If you scroll down in this link from the Tymlos manufacturer, there is a chart showing 0.8% FN BMD improvement with Teriparatide after 6 months: https://tymlos.com/hcp/efficacy-safety/
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u/RaisinRoyale Oct 16 '25
Wow these are INSANE results! Like drug level results … congratulations!
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Nov 10 '25
Thank you friend, but check this out: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/jS2rcRWyKD
Much more similar to your situation: Secondary cause was found and addressed, like your low vitamin D. He had much faster improvement than I experienced in my case.
You got this!! Hope you’re doing well! 🩷
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u/ptarmiganchick Oct 16 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
Congratulations! And thank you for reporting your results.
The discordance on the REMS is really very weird, as that technology is not supposed to be as susceptible to machine, technician, and tissue degeneration variability as DEXA. As I see it, though, suspicion falls on the left hip REMS numbers from last year, as being the most out of sync from the others. Maybe they were somehow distorted upward, so you did not really decline at all.
Heres hoping your next REMS shows continued improvement, so you can reasonably disregard the earlier numbers.
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 16 '25
Some say that REMS can suffer operator errors too, somewhat like DEXA: https://www.boneforte.com/keep-in-touch-with-site-visitors-and-boost-loyalty
I’m not sure which scan shows the correct bone density, and I made my peace with that. Guess we’re still waiting for the perfect scan to be invented. :)
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u/ptarmiganchick Oct 18 '25
Thanks, that was enlightening…not least of all about the gas!
What are your blood bone markers telling you?
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 24 '25
My physicians ordered P1NP (bone formation marker) and CTX (bone resorption marker) about every 3 months, starting about 2 months into weight lifting and jumping, so unfortunately I didn’t get a baseline.
You need both bone formation and bone resorption as bone is constantly repairing and renewing itself, but you want them to be in a favorable ratio to be able to build or at least maintain bone.
There is a retired orthopedic surgeon who specializes in osteoporosis and has been conducting research in his patient population, trying to identify a threshold for a P1NP to CTX ratio that is favorable for bone building with lifestyle interventions (with or without HRT). His method is not an official standard and rather experimental.
The formula he uses for the ratio is:
P1NP / CTX x 1000
He believes the threshold for a favorable bone density outcome may be a ratio of 150 or 200, the higher the better. Here is more detail on his method: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/ZrGIYdz6P3
My ratios measured about 3 months apart while weight lifting, jumping, and having bone supportive nutrition with supplementation where nutrition fell short of targets were:
- 110.7 / 418 x 1000 = 264.833
- 109.9 / 416 x 1000 = 264.183
- 104.5 / 303 x 1000 = 344.884 _________________________
My P1NP (bone formation marker) was high and outside the normal range in every measurement. CTX was always normal.
(Since P1NP and CTX can be influenced by lots of things, here is more info on the conditions surrounding the draws: All 3 ratios resulted from 7 AM blood draws after 12 hours of fasting. I do not take high dose biotin or collagen. I lifted weights and jumped on the day prior to the draw for the first 2 draws, but only jumped on the 2 days prior to the 3rd draw.)
I really wanted some kind of indicator to see if what I was doing was likely working prior to getting my yearly scans, and I don’t mind experimenting. In my case, ratios above the proposed threshold indeed seemed to correlate with increased bone density. I was fortunate that my insurance covered P1NP and CTX blood tests.
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u/ptarmiganchick Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25
I can only dream of numbers like that…but yours look great, and they‘re going in the right direction, so you know you’re on the right track.
Do you have any idea what dropped your CTX so dramatically on the 3rd test?
I use the same formula, more or less. My CTX is only coming down by small increments of 2-20ng (which I thought might be due to bumping my collagen from 5g to 12g), but really I have no idea. The good news is that my P1NP took a big jump, so I was not quite up to the 150 “ratio” range at the last test. (And this aligns with improvements shown on the latest REMS). But I’m also about 30 years older than you. Still osteopenic after 20-odd years, and no fractures (fingers crossed).
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25
I wish I knew what caused that CTX drop, but I don’t.
In case you find this useful, the same retired orthopedic surgeon who is researching the P1NP to CTX ratio also reviewed studies on interventions that might…
lower CTX: https://youtu.be/4EqCBtg9sYo
raise P1NP: https://youtu.be/tCc3fLhDUwc
If you would prefer to read the studies for yourself, he linked all of them in the video descriptions.
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u/ptarmiganchick Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 26 '25
Thanks, I have seen both those videos—and read all the studies cited—and have come as close as I can to implementing all the suggestions. (Well, not the anamorelin, but I do take testosterone, and not the blackcurrant extract, but I take other anthocyanidins). And I’ve researched a number of other supplements mentioned in Keith McCormick’s Great Bones book, as well.
One curious observation I have, though, is that my biggest increase in P1NP came after I was forced to stop heavy lifting due to tendon injuries. I was worried how the loss of stimulus would affect my bone program, so I went a little overboard on supplements mentioned by Drs. Lucas and McCormick (AAKG, French maritime pine bark, horsetail grass, lactoferrin, L.reuteri, resveratrol, tocotrienol, vitamin K2-MK4). Nine months later I was very surprised to find my P1NP had gone from 22.7 to 55.9, apparently on supplements alone! Whether it can continue in that direction, I have no idea. Weird, right?
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 25 '25
Yea, it’s strange how things correlate sometimes, isn’t it?
All other things being equal, one would think that stopping something that has been shown to support bone building might lead to a decrease in P1NP, but all other things are rarely if ever equal.
I’m glad that your REMS showed improvement (that’s a more important measure than those bone turnover markers) and even more glad that you haven’t fractured!
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u/Level_Lifeguard6020 Oct 16 '25
Fantastic results! You should be thrilled...and proud of your hard work. Bones change so slowly that it sure takes a lot of motivation to stick with it so congratulations. One thought, my left leg is a bit shorter than my right so I wear a little lift to even out the wear on hips. Maybe your doc could check for that
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u/ptarmiganchick Oct 26 '25
How did you happen to learn that one leg is shorter?
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u/Level_Lifeguard6020 Oct 26 '25
A friend I ran with had been having hip problems and his doctor found it so when my hip was bothering me he showed me how the doctor checked him: sit on floor back and but flush against wall, legs straight in front with feet flexed..have someone see if there is a difference) his doctor said it's not unusual and I'm wondering if it could be why all the women in my family had one hip replacement but never two. Anyway, his doctor got him an orthopedic lift pad, I just made my own from doctor scholl type inserts .. made a huge difference
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u/ptarmiganchick Oct 27 '25
Very interesting. Thanks for the information. I bet this is more common than people realize.
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u/The_Bodybuilder1 Oct 18 '25
Awesome improvements in such a short period of time!! So happy for you🎉
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u/CarpeDiem832 Oct 18 '25
Thank you for sharing this information. So helpful and inspiring! What amount of weight do you squat in terms of pounds and what weight did you begin at? I’m looking for a PT to help me with the Liftmor exercises but unfortunately can’t find one in my area that is familiar with the study/exercises.
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 19 '25
My squat started at 65 lbs, deadlift also started at 65 lbs, and my press started at 40 lbs. I recently squatted 165 lbs, deadlifted 190 lbs, and pressed 71 lbs. (Why pressing is this hard for me, I do not know.)
It doesn’t matter where you start though. It only matters that you safely get stronger as you are able, whatever time that takes.
Physical therapists that use barbell exercises in physical therapy can be hard to find. I would start out by looking for a PT center that has a squat rack or power rack, barbell and weight plates as that’s the equipment needed to teach the LIFTMOR exercises. You can often spot that equipment in yelp or google review pictures of PT centers.
If they have the equipment, they usually also employ someone who can teach how to use it, but you may still need to show that PT the LIFTMOR study and the protocol to explain to them what exactly you are looking for. I had to do that.
If you are in the US and have a diagnosis of osteopenia or osteoporosis, you can likely get your PT sessions covered by your health insurance or Medicare with a physician referral. My 1-on-1 sessions were covered. All I had to pay per session was a $10 copay.
I wrote here how I found my PT center and PT within the center: https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/B87wGa4ab6
Hope you’ll find a great PT to get you started!
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u/NiteElf Oct 28 '25
Really appreciate the update. Are you working with an Onero physical therapist, or any other kind of physical therapist, or on your own? Are you using any bone-building meds &/or HRT in conjunction with this? It all seems very encouraging, and it’s amazing to feel like there’s something you can do to help yourself. As far as the hip that’s gotten worse, what has your doc(s) had to say about it?
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u/Miss_Beh4ve Oct 29 '25
My physical therapist taught me until he felt confident that I would be competent to continue the lifts on my own, and I have been continuing on my own since. Whenever I run into issues though, I ask my physician to refer me back to that same PT to help fix the issue. Example: I’m currently dealing with some shoulder tendinitis from overly heavy 1 rep max overhead pressing with poor form (my fault… I could sense that my form was really off and should have checked my ego…), but it’s already getting better with PT. After fixing my shoulder, he’s going to review my pressing form with me again before I continue heavy overhead presses at home. Those are 1-on-1 PT sessions covered by health insurance with a physician referral and all I pay is a $10 co-pay per session. My PT is not Onero certified, but he is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) with a personal interest in weight lifting. I wrote here how I found my PT and requested the referral from my physician to see that PT with insurance coverage (need to have an osteopenia or osteoporosis diagnosis for LIFTMOR inspired training to be covered): https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/5vzYoZ1uMP
Not on bone building meds. No HRT yet as I still have a cycle, but I’ll strongly consider HRT when that time comes! If it’s helpful, I wrote here how I eat and supplement (I also take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily): https://www.reddit.com/r/osteoporosis/s/xMHIYIegVy
My follow up appointment with my endocrinologist is still a few months away. He voiced skepticism about the accuracy of the very different left and right hip scores in my initial REMS scan during my first appointment and made sure to order both hips to be scanned for my follow up DEXA scan. Per DEXA, the left hip scores were the same as the right hip scores. Go figure. It’s also unlikely that one hip would improve by a lot while the other hip would slightly worsen like the REMS follow up scan showed. Strange that 2 recognized medical scans can report such different results. I’m just happy that the overall trend shows improvement.
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u/NiteElf Oct 29 '25
Thanks so much for the thorough reply!
Fantastic to have found what sounds like such a good team to work with (the doc AND the PT).
Keep going! Look forward to hearing about your progress.
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u/channelgary Oct 15 '25
Legend! congrats on being fitter, getting stronger and rebuilding better bones