Osteopilates: Increase Bone Density, Reduce Fracture Risk, Look and Feel Great Paperback – April 1, 2003

Every Pilates teacher needs this book if your clients are over age 40. Learning how to work safely and effectively with different conditions is necessary with today’s active older adults. Osteoporosis and osteopenia are common but not often diagnosed. Even younger people can have these conditions due to poor diet, starvation diets, chemo or heredity. It’s crucial to know how to work with this population and this book is a great starting point for your continuing education.

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This is a very informative book, worth the read, but I gave it only 4 stars because of the exercise section. It has LOTS of excellent exercises, but for some reason, they would start an exercise explanation on the right page, then you have to turn the page to continue with it. You end up with the pointer pictures and the don't-do-this pictures of the previous exercise on the same two page spread as the explanatory photos of the next exercise, which is inconvenient and confusing. Would it have been SO hard to publish the book with a few more pages to enable each exercise to be on it's own two-page spread, without encroaching on the next exercise? This is a great reference book, but they need to make the exercise section more 'user-friendly'.

I really liked the practical advice, such as figuring out how to achieve proper posture. I also liked the variety of exercises given (lots I can do a my desk!).I thought it was very wordy in parts. I also felt that there was a lot of scare tactics used in the earlier chapters. Yes, we know that osteoporosis is a bad thing ; that’s why we bought this book. I also felt that she was straying from her lane at times in giving advice that probably a doctor should be giving.

This is a book I will use for myself and recommend to others. She gives great rationale of why this is an important issue to address and step by step guidelines.

This book is very well-researched and informative. The author takes time before the exercise portion to give information about risk factors for osteoporosis and what an individual can do before it comes or after a diagnosis.After reading this book, you'll know how to complete daily activities in a safe manner, which questions to ask your doctor as well as which tests you may need and what they mean.Having been diagnosed with osteoporosis at a young age, I have worked with several physical therapists after serious fractures. Many of those exercises have put me at risk for more injuries, according to this book. I would rather choose to err on the side of caution and avoid those types of moves from now on.There is some dated info in the book. It advocates milk, but research and studies have shown that your body doesn't absorb much of the calcium in milk.As with any medical or exercise book, take all info with a grain of salt and use your intuition, your own research and work with your trusted health care professionals.This book gives encouragement and hope, advice, and info that you can use immediately to prevent or treat thinning bones.

There is such great information in here including warnings on moves you should Not make with severe osteoporosis. The exercises range from minimal difficulty through two more levels. You get to work at your own pace which was good for me. Only do the reps you are comfortable with until and gradually increase them as you are able. It is an excellent workout with noticeable results in muscle toning and strength.

Speaking of spines, my book's spine is falling apart so pages are falling out, even though I have been quite careful with handling it. This book is clearly meant to be used as a workbook of sorts as opposed to being read through just once. The spine appears to have been put together cheaply which makes the book's price seem a bit excessive. That said, the content of the book is quite good, except that some of the advice is a bit out of date, particularly on meds and supplements, and according to Dr Loren Fishman, an orthopedist and long-time practitioner of Iyengar yoga, twisting the spine with a straight back is good for osteoporosis. His book provides information on this.