Despite what doctors said I knew I had to exercise my way to bone recovery

WHEN Rob Starr was told at 30 that his bone density was like that of a man aged 96 he decided enough was enough.

- By Jaymi McCann

Having been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease — a chronic inflammation of the gut at 18, he had been taking steroids that had compromised his bone health and left him with osteoporosis.

But rather than take it easy, as doctors suggested, he bought a mountain bike, a squash racquet and some running shoes. He then began an exercise regime that would be considered intense for the healthiest person — including swimming in the sea at Brighton every day at 6.30am.

And, it worked. A scan three years later revealed he had improved his bone health to that of a 70-year-old. And incredibly now, aged 56, his bone density age is 45.

He explained: “With Crohn’s I was put on huge amounts of medication. At one point I was on more than 40 steroids a day, just to keep me out of hospital

“So at 30 I had a small accident and broke my wrist. They bandaged it up and put it in a cast but it just didn’t heal.

“I had a Dexa scan and they told me my spine, particularly, had the bone density of a 96-year-old man. I was really shocked.

“They had told me I needed to take more pills and they were prescribing exercises such as lifting your leg a few inches off the ground for a few minutes.