If you’ve been diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia, you’ve likely looked at the different treatment options, from exercise, to medications, to supplements and diet. In your research, you might have come across something called “OsteoStrong” and decided to look into it. Good for you for landing on this article, because it’s likely going to be the most comprehensive, scientific, and dare I say entertaining article you’re going to read about OsteoStrong.
Original source: here.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- What is OsteoStrong? What type of exercise is it?
- Does OsteoStrong Actually Work? Can it reverse osteoporosis? Does OsteoStrong help build muscle? Can you lose weight with OsteoStrong?
- How long does it take for OsteoStrong to work?
- Is OsteoStrong a hoax? What is the controversy with OsteoStrong?
- Is OsteoStrong safe for seniors?
- OsteoStrong vs. strength training: what’s better?
- How much does OsteoStrong cost?
- The pros and cons of OsteoStrong
- Is OsteoStrong really worth it?
But first, you might be wondering who I am to even be writing about this. I’m Igor. Nice to meet ya! I’m the author of the Amazon bestselling book, Osteoporosis Reversal Secrets: Workouts, Diet and Supplements for Stronger Bones Without Medications, as well as the owner of an online personal fitness training company that specializes in osteoporosis.
I’ve been a personal trainer since 2006, have my Bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, and have delivered nearly 450 presentations to some of Canada’s largest corporations, like IBM, American Express, RBC, Qualcomm, Allstate Insurance and others. Additionally, I’m a regular speaker at personal training conference, training other personal trainers in my methodology.
With that out of the way, let’s get started.
What is OsteoStrong?
OsteoStrong is both a gym, as well as a method. The gym is based on the method, so let’s start there first. The whole premise of OsteoStrong is something called “osteogenic loading.” Just what is this fancy science terminology? Osteogenic simply means “bone-building.” So in a nutshell, you’re loading up your bones, so that they hopefully get stronger.
Specifically, what do you do? It’s very simple. The machine is basically set to the highest possible weight. It’s immovable. And you push against it as hard as you can for 5-10 seconds. Then move on to the next machine. The entire session (I can’t call it a workout) takes 10-15 minutes, once per week.
That’s the method. As for the gym, it’s actually nothing fancy. It’s basically regular gym equipment that you can find at any commercial gym, but with a twist. These machines are permanently stuck on the maximal possible weight that you can’t lift. On these machines is a screen, telling you how many pounds of pressure you put into the machine.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and in my opinion, a video is worth a thousand pictures. So rather than reading more about this, here’s a quick video:
So to answer the question of “what type of exercise is it”, it’s simple – static exercises with maximal force.
Does OsteoStrong Actually Work?
So the appeal is there – you go to the gym. Squeeze a few muscles as hard as you can for 5-10 seconds. Do that with a few different machines, go home after 10-15 minutes without breaking a sweat.
Fantastic. Instead of grunting and sweating and breathing hard like strength training or cardio, it’s very appealing. But does it actually work? Does it improve bone density? Can it reverse osteoporosis?
The claims are strong, but can you trust the claims of someone trying to sell you something?
Heck, I make my living by selling personal training for osteoporosis, but I also have to sleep at night. I can’t do that if I’m making false claims.
As far as OsteoStrong is concerned, that’s where the research isn’t that strong. In one study, 147 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis were divided into 4 groups:
- Group 1: OsteoStrong without medications.
- Group 2: OsteoStrong with medications.
- Group 3: no OsteoStrong, no medications.
- Group 4: no OsteoStrong, with medications.
After 12 months, here were the results:
| Group | Improvement in bone density |
| OsteoStrong without meds | 1.1% |
| OsteoStrong with meds | 4.2% |
| No OsteoStrong, no meds | -1.6% |
| No OsteoStrong, yes meds | 1.0% |
So it looks like by itself, OsteoStrong is responsible for a 1.1% improvement in bone density. But wait – there’s more. To their credit, the researchers did disclose a conflict of interest. This study was funded by a company called “Osteofit Hellas, Inc.”, which has a commercial interest in OsteoStrong.
Just because there’s a conflict of interest doesn’t completely invalidate the results of the study, but they should be looked at with a grain of salt.
A different study with no disclosed conflicts of interest saw even more promising results. In this study, 140 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis were divided into 2 groups:
- Group 1: OsteoStrong
- Group 2: no exercise
After 9 months, group 1 improved their lower back (lumbar spine) bone density by 2.2%, and their T scores decreased from -2.27 to -1.93. Group 2 had no changes.
A third study also showed very good improvements in bone density from OsteoStrong. But once again, this study had another conflict of interest. One of the authors of the study, John Jaquish, is affiliated with a company that provided the equipment for this study. Again, it doesn’t invalidate the results, but it does make us skeptical of them.
At the time of this writing, these are the only 3 studies that exist on OsteoStrong – 2 of which have conflicts of interest, but all 3 show positive results. So it is promising, but certainly not as well established as more traditional forms of exercise for osteoporosis, like strength training and jump training.
Does OsteoStrong Help Build Muscle?
Unlike OsteoStrong’s effects on osteoporosis, where the answer is “it’s probably helpful”, the answer to the muscle building question is a definite “no.”
Do you get better at pushing immovable objects with more and more force? Yes. But do you build muscle size as a result of OsteoStrong? Definitely not.
To build muscle size, you need 2 things:
- Strength training (with the right frequency, intensity, and number of sets and reps).
- Adequate protein.
Everything about OsteoStrong is wrong for building muscle. Let’s compare the optimal muscle building protocol to OsteoStrong.
| Exercise for Muscle Building | OsteoStrong | |
| Frequency | 2-4 times per week | Once a week |
| Sets | 6-10 for beginners and younger people. 8-12 for older individuals | 1 set |
| Reps | 5-30 | 1 |
| Type of contraction | Dynamic | Static |
As you can see, there’s no overlap whatsoever between OsteoStrong and what it takes to build muscle.
So while it likely helps with bone density, it definitely doesn’t build muscle.
Can You Lose Weight with OsteoStrong?
This is another definite “no.” Remember – each session of OsteoStrong is only once a week, it lasts 10 minutes, and it’s just one 5-10 second contraction per muscle/position.
In fact, the great appeal of it is that you don’t sweat, you don’t need to change into gym clothes, and you can go home right after.
But even more broadly, weight loss is almost a diametrically opposed goal to bone strengthening. Osteoporosis is much more common in underweight people than in overweight people. Of course, there are some overweight people with osteoporosis, but OsteoStrong is not the way to lose weight.
How Long Does It Take for OsteoStrong to Work?
Generally speaking, DEXA scans are only done once a year, so most research on interventions that improve bone density are only measured after one year. There was a study from earlier that I mentioned that looked at it over a 9-month period, and it seemed to work.
It would certainly be interesting to get scans at 3-month intervals for 5 years of anything – supplements, nutritional changes, exercise, OsteoStrong – but unfortunately, that just doesn’t exist.
Is OsteoStrong a Hoax? What is the Controversy with OsteoStrong?
OsteoStrong is definitely not a hoax. A hoax would mean that the people implementing OsteoStrong know for sure that it doesn’t work, and yet, choose to implement it anyway, and make claims that it’s effective. OsteoStrong is not that. There’s actually promising research that OsteoStrong can be effective, but that research is in its infancy, and at the moment, mired by conflicts of interest. To call it a hoax would be inaccurate. To call it the de-facto best way to treat osteoporosis would also be inaccurate. But to call it an experimental method (we can’t call it “proven” yet, the way we can about traditional strength training) that shows promise would be the most accurate assessment.
As for the controversies with OsteoStrong, there are a few:
- As we mentioned earlier, the enthusiasm of people selling OsteoStrong is a bit premature. It’s promising, but not definitive. From the research that shows that it’s promising, we can’t say that it’s the most effective.
- They’ve had some legal issues.
- Some people have gotten injured doing OsteoStrong, but hey, if enough people do anything, they’ll get injured. Some people get injured doing strength training. Some people get injured doing very innocuous things. Just because it happened to 0.01% of people doing it doesn’t make it representative of all people doing it.
Is OsteoStrong Safe for Seniors?
By and large, OsteoStrong is extremely safe. There are a few reasons for its safety:
- The contractions are static. You’re much less likely to get injured with static contractions than dynamic contractions.
- Lots of injuries happen when a person is fatigued. With 5-10-second contractions, and 10-15 minute “workouts” (it’s in quotation marks, because it feels like the wrong word to use for what you’re doing at OsteoStrong. Maybe “sessions” is a better word), you don’t fatigue, so that lowers the risk of injuries even more.
- The contractions don’t happen in dangerous ranges of motion.
However, this is in generally healthy people. If someone has high blood pressure, I’d probably shy away from OsteoStrong, because of its focus on maximal static contractions – pretty much the worst kind of training you can do if you have high blood pressure. It’s potentially deadly.
Though most people with osteoporosis don’t have high blood pressure, so it’s largely a non-issue.
To make it even safer, what I personally would do is do 2-3 “warm-up” sets. Instead of making your first contraction a maximal contraction, maybe do 1 contraction at 40-50% of your maximal force, then rest for 30-60 seconds. Do a second contraction at 60-70% force, and rest for 30-60 seconds. Do a third contraction at 80-90% force, rest for 30-60 seconds. Then do your final contraction at 100% force.
OsteoStrong vs. Strength Training: What’s Better?
OsteoStrong is an option, but is it the best option? Well, let’s compare OsteoStrong to the gold standard – strength training. As I detail in my book, a number of studies (study 1, study 2, study 3, study 4) have shown that strength training consistently improves bone density by 1-4%. Remember from previous chapters that a 1% improvement in bone density corresponds to an 8% decrease in fracture risk.
Strength training has extremely robust research on it. We know not just by how much it improves bone density, but more importantly, we also know by how much it reduces fracture risk. Why do I differentiate between bone density and fracture risk? Because they’re not one and the same.
They’re related, but it’s not a perfect relationship. For instance, medications like Prolia and Fosamax improve bone density a lot more than exercise. According to one systematic review, Prolia reduces the risk of fractures by 68% at the spine, and 40% in the hip. According to a different systematic review, Fosamax reduces the risk of fractures by 45% at the spine and 40% at the hip (and yes, both of those come with side effects for some people).
Although strength training doesn’t improve bone density as much as medications, it does improve fracture risk as well as or better than some medications. One study found a reduction in fractures by 62.8% from strength training.
There’s no such research on OsteoStrong.
At least as it stands right now, it seems like strength training is the superior option. Perhaps, as more research comes out on OsteoStrong (especially testing different protocols, like more contractions than just 1, and/or a higher frequency), I’ll change my opinion, but at the current time, strength training is the better choice.
How Much Does OsteoStrong Cost?
When we’re talking about the cost of OsteoStrong, we need to differentiate between the OsteoStrong gyms and the OsteoStrong methodology. The gyms vary based on which part of the world you are in, but they are generally-speaking more expensive than commercial gyms.
Here are some ballparks and ranges:
- In the US, OsteoStrong gym memberships range from $149-$249 per month.
- In the UK, it’s £145 to £295 per month.
- In Canada, there are only 2 locations, and they don’t disclose their pricing on their website.
- In Australia, they also don’t disclose their pricing on their website.
With all these membership options, you of course have the option of just doing the exercises on your own either at any gym of your choosing, or at home. Remember – there’s nothing unique or special about OsteoStrong gyms (in my opinion). You’re just setting the machine to a weight you can’t lift, and squeezing against that immovable weight with max force.
The Pros and Cons of OsteoStrong
So all in all, what are the pros and cons of OsteoStrong? I’ll summarize them in this table:
| Pros | Cons |
| Fast – 10–15-minute sessions | Not individualized |
| Preliminary research is promising | Limited research – far from proven |
| Quite safe | Accessibility – very few OsteoStrong gyms in the world |
| Very easy to learn | Higher membership prices than regular gyms |
Bottom Line: Is OsteoStrong Really Worth It?
OsteoStrong is not really a binary choice. You have many options to help you improve your bone density – from OsteoStrong to strength training, to diet and supplements. You also have the choice of doing nothing.
Is OsteoStrong better than doing nothing? Probably. Is it as good as proper strength training? Probably not.
There’s also a drawback to relying on OsteoStrong exclusively (without anything else – strength training, diet, supplements). That is, the passage of time. If you spend a year doing OsteoStrong, and it doesn’t work for you, your bone density will have decreased during that time. You could have spent that year doing something effective.
Of course, you could make the same argument for any intervention – strength training, diet or supplements. But that’s why you don’t have to do any single intervention by itself. When we work with clients, we throw the kitchen sink at them. We combine everything that works. So it doesn’t have to be OsteoStrong OR strength training. You can do OsteoStrong AND strength training AND diet AND the right supplements.
