What Is Osteogenic Loading? The Science Behind Stronger Bones

If you've been diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia, you've probably heard the standard advice: take your calcium, get some vitamin D, and do weight-bearing exercise. Good advice—but incomplete.

What most people don't realize is that not all "loading" is created equal. The stimulus your bones need to actually rebuild isn't just any exercise—it's a specific type of force that most activities never come close to providing.

This is where osteogenic loading comes in.

How Bones Actually Respond to Force

Bones are living tissue. They're constantly breaking down and rebuilding through a process called remodeling. When you're young, you build more than you lose. After about age 30, that balance starts tipping the other direction.

Here's what most people miss: bones don't respond to duration of exercise—they respond to magnitude of force. Walking for an hour puts low force through your skeleton for a long time. Osteogenic loading puts high force through your skeleton for a few seconds.

Which one triggers bone growth?

A study done at the University of Bristol showed the femur/hip required at or above 4.2 times body weight (4.2 multiples of body weight, or MOB) to trigger meaningful adaptation. For reference:

• Walking: ~1.5 MOB
• Running: ~2-3 MOB
• Jumping: ~3-4 MOB
• Osteogenic loading: 5-12+ MOB

But 4.2 isn't a magic number. It comes down to challenging your bone strength. Maybe for you it's 7 MOB, or even 10. For context: I have a member in her mid-seventies who routinely posts over 10 MOB, and one in her late 50s who regularly exceeds 20. Outliers, sure—but they prove the point. The threshold isn't universal. It's whatever challenges your skeleton.

This is why you can walk daily for years and still have a DEXA scan come back worse. You're not hitting the threshold your bones need to respond.

The Mechanostat Theory

Back in the 1980s, orthopedic surgeon Harold Frost proposed the "mechanostat" theory. In simple terms: your skeleton has a built-in thermostat for bone density. Apply force below a certain threshold, nothing happens. Apply force above it, and bones adapt by getting denser.

The problem? That threshold is higher than most exercise provides—especially the low-impact activities typically recommended for people with osteoporosis.

"The stimulus that triggers bone formation isn't gentle or prolonged—it's brief and intense."

What Osteogenic Loading Looks Like in Practice

At OsteoStrong, we use specialized equipment that allows you to safely produce forces you'd never attempt with free weights or machines at a gym. You're not lifting anything—you're pressing against resistance in positions where your body can handle enormous loads safely.

Each position takes about 5-10 seconds. The whole session is roughly 10 minutes. And you only need to do it once a week.

That sounds counterintuitive if you're used to thinking "more exercise = more results." But when you understand the mechanostat model, it makes sense. You're not trying to accumulate workout volume—you're trying to hit a force threshold that tells your bones to adapt.

Who Is This For?

Osteogenic loading works for a wide range of people:

• Those with osteoporosis or osteopenia looking for a drug-free approach
• Anyone wanting to build bone density proactively as they age
• Athletes wanting stronger skeletal foundations
• People who can't do high-impact exercise due to joint issues

It's also remarkably safe. Because you're in control of how hard you push, and because the positions are biomechanically optimized, the risk of injury is minimal—even for people with fragile bones.

The Bottom Line

Osteogenic loading isn't a replacement for general fitness. You still need cardiovascular health, flexibility, and functional strength. But when it comes to bone density specifically, it addresses the actual mechanism that triggers bone adaptation—in a way that walking, swimming, or even weight training typically don't.

If you've been doing "all the right things" and your DEXA scans aren't improving, it might be time to look at the magnitude of force you're providing, not just the amount of time you're spending.