HEALTH & WELLNESS
By Megan Wroe, MS, RD, CNE, CLEC
May is National Osteoporosis Month and is a good opportunity to highlight the interconnectedness of bone health to overall health. Bones tend to be looked at through a narrow, isolated lens, with marketing typically focused on calcium supplements. While these are inarguably critical for bone health, it is rare to see information on the relationship of bones to balance, or to pelvic strength, or to our immune function. In fact, it’s rare to hear of bones as being living tissue or organ systems, rather than hard structures that simply hold us up.
This limited view creates a gap both in public understanding as well as in functional health outcomes. The idea of bone health should not be just the density of the bone, but the health of the bone as a part of our integrated body systems. Weak bones create risk everywhere else and can be a barrier to strength, stability, resilience, and independence as we age.
For brokers working with Medicare populations, employer groups, and individuals planning for long-term health, this broader perspective matters. Bone health is not just a box to be checked for screening of osteoporosis, but is a predictor of overall health risk, healthcare cost, and quality of life, especially for seniors.
Bone as a Living, Integrated System
We often think of bones as static structures that hold the body upright. In reality, bones are living, metabolically active tissues that play multiple roles across the body. Beyond providing physical structure, bones contribute to:
- Movement and mechanical strength (in partnership with muscle)
- Vitamin and mineral regulation (including calcium and vitamin D metabolism)
- Hormonal signaling that influences metabolism (osteocalcin stimulates insulin sensitivity)
- Immune system support (via bone marrow immune cells and anti-inflammatory cytokines)
Bones are also directly related to muscular strength. Bones adapt to the forces placed on them, meaning that without adequate mechanical load, bone density declines. This creates a dual risk of increased likelihood of falling due to reduced strength, and greater susceptibility to fracture in falls due to weaker bones. CDC reports that one in four adults over age 65 falls each year, making falls a leading cause of injury and hospitalization in senior populations.
Like many systems in the body, bone health gradually declines with age if there is no action, often without noticeable symptoms until later in life. This is where lifestyle prevention becomes critical.
Lifestyle Strategies for Better Bones
When we connect the dots, it’s clear that bone health influences far more than skeletal structure. It impacts strength, balance, stability, immune resilience, and recovery capacity. Despite common messaging, there is far more we can do about it than simply take calcium supplements! Here are some of the most effective, evidence-based lifestyle strategies:
Focus on weight bearing & resistance training
- Bones respond to force. Research shows that higher mechanical load stimulates greater bone remodeling and strengthening, making resistance training one of the most effective tools for improving bone density.
- Heavier, progressive resistance training is more effective than light weights with high repetitions.
- Proper guidance by professionals ensures safety.
- Strength training also improves muscle mass, metabolic health, and cardiovascular capacity.
- Loading the skeletal system also stimulates bone marrow, which supports immune function and is an important factor in recovery from illness, injury, surgery, or falls.
Focus on pelvic strength
Pelvic health is often overlooked, yet it is critical in stability and movement. The pelvis serves as the body’s structural hub, connecting upper and lower extremities. Strength in this region supports postural alignment, balance, coordination, and efficient force transfer. Weakness in the pelvic floors can contribute to instability and increased fall risk. Improving this strength not only enhances stability overall but supports bone health in the pelvis itself.
Focus on balance & posture training
Balance is a trainable skill and a critical component of fall prevention. Targeted balance and posture training improves neuromuscular control, reaction time, and confidence in movement. These adaptations reduce fall risk and help break the cycle of fear-based inactivity that often accelerates decline.
Food as foundational for bone health
Nutrition plays a foundational role in bone health and overall physiology. A Mediterranean style dietary pattern has been associated with improved bone health outcomes. Key nutrients to emphasize include: calcium, magnesium, vitamin D3, vitamin K1&2, potassium, and protein. Also important to note is that bone density is largely established by early adulthood, making these habits relevant not only for seniors, but across the lifespan.
(De)Focus on risky substances
Certain lifestyle factors can negatively impact bone health and should be minimized: smoking, excess alcohol consumption, and highly sedentary behavior. Addressing these behaviors supports not only bone integrity, but overall health and longevity.
Don’t forget to screen
Bone density testing, such as DEXA scans, provides valuable insight into bone health before fractures occur. The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that approximately 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, with another 44 million at risk due to low bone density, highlighting the importance of early detection. Talk to your doctor about when screening should start for you.
Connecting the Dots from Bones to Brokers
For brokers, bone health awareness represents an opportunity to help your clients anticipate risk, maintain independence, and reduce their likelihood of high-cost claims such as falls and fractures. Reframing the conversation from checking off healthcare boxes to looking at bone health as part of the body’s integrated system of health connects to real-world concerns of the people you are working with. This personalized approach, of course, then differentiates you as more than an expert on coverage, but as a health-forward professional partner who is interested in keeping clients active, engaged, and independent.
In addition to early screening with medical providers, the lifestyle strategies for bone health are not only effective but can be simple to start working on with the right resources. At St. Jude Wellness Center, we offer a variety of bone health resources, from broad education to more personalized individual services, such as Nutrient Analysis dietitian consultations and Osteoporosis Medical Fitness Programming.
In the month of May, we are focusing on Balance & Bone Health by offering several additional services to our community free of charge:
- Gait & Balance Assessments to identify early instability. This is a quick 10-15 minute appointment with a fitness expert that will give a great baseline measurement of your bone health, speed, and stability in order to choose next best steps. Call our center to book your free assessment: 714-578-8770 or email stjudewellness@stjoe.org
- Our educational webinar “The Science of Strong Bones” will explore how bone health connects to strength, balance, pelvic stability, and immune function and is free to our community on Tuesday, May 12 at noon. Registration can be done on the Programs & Events page of stjudewellnesscenter.org
These types of resources provide a practical entry point for clients, helping them understand their current level of risk and take proactive steps toward healthy bones at any age.
Parkinson’s Empowerment Program: An early intervention program for those with recent PD diagnoses and their care partners. This 4-week program combines education from an integrative team of health and wellness experts along with caregiver support and PD exercise. Participants receive personalized recommendations for the next best fitness program. Cohorts are free of charge and offered every 1-2 months. Next cohort is Thursdays from 2 PM-4 PM and begins May 7.
Brain Fit: Our signature brain gym circuit course focused on utilizing dual-tasking exercises for enhancing neuroplasticity and reducing risk of cognitive decline. This course is for active, independent agers who are not currently managing cognitive conditions. Brain Fit is a twice weekly, 6-week series offered consistently throughout the year for $165. Next cohort is Wednesdays and Fridays from 12 PM-1 PM starting May 6.
Wellness Center Tours: For those new to our center, we offer bimonthly tours free of charge to give you the behind-the-scenes scoop of what we offer.
Full Body Stretch & Mobility Workshop: A full hour dedicated to therapeutic stretch and mobility drills you can modify and do on your own for enhanced daily movement.
See the full schedule & book on the St. Jude Wellness Center website.
Megan Wroe, MS, RD, CNE, CLEC, is a registered dietitian and Manager of St. Jude Wellness Center, an integrated program of Providence St. Jude Medical Center. She leads a multidisciplinary team providing nutrition, fitness, mind-body therapies, and preventive wellness services that support the hospital’s mission of whole-person care. Megan partners with community organizations and insurance professionals to advance preventive health strategies that help reduce chronic disease risk, promote healthy aging, and improve quality of life for Medicare and senior populations. From single offering services and packages to virtual comprehensive programs for larger employee populations, the wellness center team will create a wellness package based on the health needs and interests of your clients and groups. Learn more about the wellness center and their upcoming programs at their website.
Providence St. Jude Medical Center
megan.wroe@stjoe.org
www.stjudewellnesscenter.org
Featured in our May 2026 Issue page 24 – Click here to download!