Non-pharmacological Interventions for Osteosarcopenia

Abstract

Locomotion, walking, and running are part of our evolutionary history and the sedentary lifestyle of modern world betrays the evolutionary history encoded in our genes. Humans need a future where physical activities will be, like in our ancestral past, a main component of daily life. Physical inactivity is responsible for many chronic diseases and musculoskeletal disorders, such as osteosarcopenia, and it represents one of the main global risks for mortality. Osteoporosis and sarcopenia impose an immense health and social services cost burden on countries. During the last two decades, several leading international organizations have recognized the ability of physical activity to ameliorate the growing burden of chronic diseases and have issued calls to action to make physical exercise a priority for world population. Therefore, physical activity represents a potent non-pharmacological intervention to promote global health and the objective of the present chapter is to present and discuss evidence-based physical activity programs that are able to prevent and counteract both osteoporosis and sarcopenia in our older population.