My friend’s recent bone scan reveals her bones are weakening, and she doesn’t want them to get worse.


Millions of people with osteoporosis sustain fractures each year. (source, source).  


And among those with hip fractures, 60% of them need assistance one year later. (source, source)


My friend wants to avoid osteoporosis and decrease her risk for breaking a hip.

The solution?

When she consulted her doctor, she was told to “stomp” while she walks.  


When someone stomps, their bones (their hip bones, in particular) absorb the impact.  


Stomping creates more force on bones compared to walking (which my friend was already doing).  



When she walks, each step produces an impact somewhere between 110% to 150% of her body weight – depending on her speed. (Faster walking results in more impact.)   


And stomping creates less force than jumping, which would produce anywhere from 3 to 12 times her bodyweight. (source).  



All three activities – walking, stomping, and jumping – will place force on her bones. 


But walking may not be enough to strengthen her bones. 


And frequent, repetitive jumping may cause knee pain. 


So her doctor suggested a middle ground – stomping. 



But this physician’s advice left my friend with more questions than answers:


  • How hard should she stomp?


  • How long should she stomp? 


  • How frequently should she stomp?

How to Strengthen Your Bones

Bones get weaker without weight-bearing activity.  


NASA indicates astronauts lose 1 - 1.5% of their bone density for every month they are in space. (source)



Conversely, bones get stronger with impact activities – like walking, hiking, dancing, running, and jumping.  


Greater impacts, like those experienced when jumping, are particularly effective to stimulate bone strength. (source)  



Bones also get stronger from resistance exercise. 


When muscles contract, they pull on bones, and this force encourages the body to produce better bones. 


The LIFTMOR Study revealed that even women with osteoporosis can improve their bones when they lift heavy weights. (source) 



But not everyone who wants strong bones can jump repetitively or lift heavy weights without getting knee pain.  



Note: A comprehensive approach to bone health will also address nutrition 

and lifestyle modifications like avoiding smoking and limiting alcohol consumption.

Stronger Bones without Knee Pain

My friend knows she can walk 45 minutes, three times per week, without any discomfort. 


But she’s losing bone strength, so she clearly needs more force than walking will give her bones.  



While stomping will provide greater forces, she’s unclear on how hard, how much and how often she should stomp.  


She doesn’t know what her knees are capable of without pain. 


This is because she doesn’t know her Load Tolerance, the amount of force her body - in this case, her knees - can absorb without getting pain.  



Knowing your Load Tolerance helps you avoid being too gentle on your body (remaining weak) or being too hard on your body (getting pain).  

Read more about this here.



With this in mind, I suggested an alternative: an adjustable weighted vest. 


By wearing a weighted vest while she’s walking, her bones will receive more force.    


Research supports the improvement in bones over a 12 week period when the weight was gradually increased up to 15% of someone’s bodyweight. (source)

One strategy is starting with 5% of her body weight.  


Since she weighs 140 pounds, this means wearing or carrying 7 pounds.  


If she walks for 20 minutes and she feels good afterwards, she knows this is at or below her Load Tolerance.  



Next, I recommend adjusting one variable at a time: 

  • Frequency:  For example, she may repeat the above scenario (7 pounds, 20 minutes) a second during that week. And the following week, increase to three times a week.  

  • Duration: After she’s walking 20 minutes three times a week with 7 pounds, she may progress by 2 minutes each week (22 minutes > 24 minutes > 26 minutes > etc.).

  • Weight: When she feels good walking 30 minutes with 7 pounds, three times per week, by a pound per week (8 pounds > 9 pounds > 10 pounds > etc.) until she achieves 15% of her body weight (21 pounds).



Using this strategy will reduce the guesswork of safely building stronger bones.  


It will allow her to apply more and more force on her bones, while reducing her likelihood of getting knee pain.

Key Takeaways:

  • Strengthening bones requires force from resistance training or weight-bearing, impact activities.  

  • Bone strengthening exercises may cause knee pain if the forces are above your Load Tolerance (the amount of force your knees can absorb without getting pain).

  • When your Load Tolerance for an activity like stomping is unclear, incrementally adding force – through frequency, duration, or weight – will more likely provide benefits without knee pain or injury.

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Disclaimer: The information in this blog post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any health issue or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare professional. The author of this blog and the website do not bear any responsibility for any actions taken based on the information provided in this blog.