Health
To fight bone loss, FDA approves vibration belt shown to help post-menopausal women
Post-menopausal women may soon have a new weapon in the fight against bone loss.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted clearance for a vibration belt known as Osteoboost.
The prescription device is intended for post-menopausal women who have low bone density, a condition called osteopenia, according to the company’s manufacturer, Bone Health Technologies.
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“A study conducted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center showed the efficacy of Osteoboost in directly stimulating bone growth and preserving bone mineral density and strength in postmenopausal women with osteopenia by sending low-frequency vibrations directly to the lumbar spine and hips,” Laura Yecies, CEO of Bone Health Technologies in Redwood City, California, told Fox News Digital.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently granted clearance for a vibration belt known as Osteoboost. It works by sending low-frequency vibrations directly to the lumbar spine and hips. (Bone Health Technologies)
Fewer than 10% of patients who meet the criteria for osteoporosis medications are taking them — and many others are not compliant with taking them on a regular basis, Yecies noted.
The Osteoboost technology is “safe, medication-free and easy to use at home, making it suitable for a wide variety of patients with bone density loss,” she said.
The FDA approved the device on Jan. 18 based on National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research.
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The NIH’s findings were presented at last year’s annual scientific meeting of the Endocrine Society in Chicago as well as the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The findings are currently under peer review for publication.
The Osteoboost technology is “safe, medication-free and easy to use at home,” the CEO said. (Bone Health Technologies)
“There are some studies that are as much as 15 years old that have found whole-body vibratory stimulation can have a beneficial effect on bone strength,” Chris Morris, M.D., a rheumatologist at Arthritis Associates in Kingsport, Tennessee, told Fox News Digital. Morris is not affiliated with Osteoboost.
Research inspired by NASA
In 2013, Dr. Shane Mangrum, a physician who is also a co-founder of Bone Health Technologies, saw a need for preventing spine fractures in patients with osteoporosis after treating many patients with compression fractures, Yecies said.
The doctor aimed to find a treatment that did not involve taking medications.
After learning about research by NASA that showed mechanical stimulation of bones through whole-body vibration could improve bone density, Mangrum pursued grant funding to develop and test the initial prototype of the Osteoboost belt.
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This led to additional funding that supported a study that Yecies calls “pivotal.”
The study, led by Dr. Laura Bilek, a researcher from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and a clinical adviser to Bone Health Technologies, included 126 post-menopausal women who had low bone mass but did not have osteoporosis.
The participants were 62 years old, on average; 98% were White and 96% were non-Hispanic.
Bone mass peaks during the early 30s and then starts to decline. (iStock)
The women were randomly assigned to a treatment group or a control group, but were not told which treatment they were receiving, according to Bilek, who spoke to Fox News Digital.
The treatment group used a vibration belt, while the control group used a “sham device” that created a sound but did not deliver vibration.
Both treatments were administered five times a week for 12 months, and the researchers ensured that all participants met the daily recommended amount of calcium intake.
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The researchers evaluated CT scans for each group to gauge changes in the strength of the lower spine, Bilek said.
They found no significant differences in the change of lower spine vertebrae between the active group and the control group.
But when comparing the different age categories, the researchers found that women between 50 and 60 years old who received the active treatment had significantly less bone loss compared to the control group, the researcher noted.
The researchers were primarily looking for change in the strength in the lower spine by using images of computed tomography (CT) in each group, said the lead researcher (not pictured). (iStock)
Among those who used the belt a minimum of three times a week, the control group had approximately five times less bone strength and almost seven times less bone mineral density compared to the active treatment group, the researchers found.
“This is especially important for women during the menopause transition, when women lose bone rapidly,” Bilek told Fox News Digital.
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Morris agreed, noting that “this new therapy has the potential to be a non-medication approach to the improvement of bone density and reduction of fracture risk.”
The technology has the potential to “improve balance and mobility in people who are at a greater risk of fracture,” he added.
“This new therapy has the potential to be a non-medication approach to the improvement of bone density and reduction of fracture risk.”
Menopause accelerates bone loss in women due to the loss of estrogen, with up to 20% of bone loss occurring during and after menopause, according to The Endocrine Society’s website.
“The Osteoboost has the potential to help millions of women with low bone mass who are at risk of progressing to osteoporosis,” said Bilek.
Study limitations
While Morris called the research “promising,” he noted that it did not look at whether the participants had a reduced risk of fractures after using the vibration belt.
Bilek’s research team looked at “surrogate markers” (substitute values) for bone strength, because directly determining fracture risk would have required following the participants over a number of years.
The research also did not compare Osteoboost with standard medication therapies that have shown to be effective in reducing the risk of a fracture, Morris added.
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“Additionally, I would be interested in whether this might be something to add to the currently available medications to provide even more benefit,” he said.
As Yecies told Medscape Medical News, a price has not yet been set for the Osteoboost device, and out-of-pocket costs are expected to differ by patient.
The company aims to begin shipping the device later this year, she noted.
Osteopenia vs. osteoporosis
“Osteopenia and osteoporosis both refer to a medical condition in which there has been a loss of calcium and the protein framework of our bones,” Morris told Fox News Digital.
Bone mass peaks during the early 30s and then starts to decline, according to Healthline.
Approximately 34 million people in the United States have osteopenia, as Cleveland Clinic stated. (iStock)
Osteopenia occurs when the body breaks down bone faster than it builds new bone.
Someone has osteopenia, or low bone mass, if the T-score is -1 to -2.5. With osteoporosis, the T-score is below -2.5.
“This number is important, because the lower the score, the higher the risk of fractures due to worsening bone weakness,” noted Morris.
Approximately 34 million people in the United States have osteopenia, as Cleveland Clinic stated.
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The condition increases the risk of osteoporosis, which is the most common bone disease in the U.S., per the CDC.
Doctors diagnose both bone conditions based on a test called a DEXA scan, which measures bone density.
“The test compares a person’s bone density to that seen in a 30-year-old with similar height, weight and gender,” Morris said.
Approximately half of all women will have a fracture during their lifetime, primarily occurring during the osteopenia stage.
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The key to feeling better in a fast, overstimulated world might be surprisingly simple: Live a little more like your grandparents.
A growing social media trend, dubbed “nonnamaxxing,” draws inspiration from the slower, more intentional rhythms associated with an Italian grandmother.
The lifestyle is often linked to activities like preparing home-cooked meals, spending time outdoors and making meaningful connections.
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“Nonnamaxxing is a 2026 trend that embraces the slower, more intentional lifestyle of an Italian grandmother (a Nonna). Think cooking from scratch, long family meals, daily walks, gardening and less screen time,” Erin Palinski-Wade, a New Jersey-based registered dietitian, told Fox News Digital.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
Stepping away from screens and toward real-world interaction can have measurable benefits, according to California-based psychotherapist Laurie Singer.
“We know that interacting with others in person, rather than spending time on screens, significantly improves mental health,” she told Fox News Digital, adding that social media often fuels comparison and lowers self-esteem.
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Living more like previous generations isn’t purely driven by nostalgia. Cooking meals from scratch, for example, has been linked to better nutrition and more mindful eating patterns.
Adopting traditional mealtime habits can improve diet quality and support both physical and mental health, especially when meals are shared regularly with others, Palinski-Wade noted.
One longevity expert stresses that staying healthy isn’t just about food — it’s also about joy and community. (iStock)
There’s also a psychological benefit to slowing down and focusing on one task at a time. Anxiety often stems from unfinished or avoided tasks, Singer noted, and engaging in hands-on activities can counteract that.
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“Nonnamaxxing encourages us to be present around a task, like gardening, baking or knitting, or just taking a mindful walk, that delivers something ‘real,’” she said.
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Palinski-Wade cautions against turning the trend into another source of pressure, noting that a traditional “nonna” lifestyle often assumes a different pace of life.
The key, she said, is adapting the mindset, not replicating it perfectly.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
The goal is to reintroduce small, intentional moments that make you feel better.
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That might mean prioritizing a few shared meals each week, taking a walk without your phone or setting aside time for a simple hobby, the expert recommended.
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Singer added, “Having a positive place to escape to, through whatever activities speak to us and make us happy, isn’t generational – it’s human.”
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Feeling lonely may take a toll on older adults’ memory — but it may not speed up cognitive decline, according to a new study.
Researchers from Colombia, Spain and Sweden analyzed data from more than 10,000 adults ages 65 to 94 across 12 European countries and found those who reported higher levels of loneliness did worse on memory tests at the start of the study, according to research published this month in the journal Aging & Mental Health.
Over a seven-year period, however, memory decline occurred at a similar rate regardless of how lonely participants felt.
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“The finding that loneliness significantly impacted memory, but not the speed of decline in memory over time was a surprising outcome,” lead author Dr. Luis Carlos Venegas-Sanabria of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Universidad del Rosario said in a statement.
Loneliness may be linked to memory performance in older adults, a new study suggests. (iStock)
“It suggests that loneliness may play a more prominent role in the initial state of memory than in its progressive decline,” Venegas-Sanabria said, adding that the findings highlight the importance of addressing loneliness as a factor in cognitive performance.
The findings add to debate about whether loneliness contributes to dementia risk. While loneliness and social isolation are often considered risk factors for cognitive decline, research results have been mixed.
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The study looked at data from the long-running Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which tracked 10,217 older adults between 2012 and 2019. Participants were asked to recall words immediately and after a delay to measure memory performance.
Social isolation and loneliness could play a surprising role in cognitive health among seniors. (iStock)
Loneliness was assessed using three questions about how often participants felt isolated, left out or lacking companionship.
About 8% of participants reported high levels of loneliness at the outset. That group tended to be older, more likely to be female and more likely to have conditions such as depression.
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Researchers found that those with higher loneliness had lower scores on both immediate and delayed memory tests at baseline. Still, all groups — regardless of loneliness level — experienced similar declines in memory over time.
The results suggest loneliness may not directly accelerate the progression of memory loss, though it remains linked to poorer cognitive performance overall.
Researchers look at a brain scan at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
Experts warn, however, that the findings should not be interpreted to mean loneliness is harmless.
“The finding that lonely older adults start with worse memory but don’t decline faster is actually the most interesting part of the paper, and I think it’s easy to misread,” said Jordan Weiss, Ph.D., a scientific advisor and aging expert at Assisted Living Magazine and a professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
“It likely means loneliness does its damage earlier in life, well before people show up in a study like this at 65-plus,” Weiss told Fox News Digital.
By older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold, an aging expert says. (iStock)
He suggested that by older age, long-term social patterns may already be established, making it harder to detect when the effects of loneliness first took hold.
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“By the time you’re measuring someone in their late 60s, decades of social connection patterns are already baked in,” he said.
Weiss, who was not involved in the research, added that loneliness may coincide with other health conditions, and noted that participants who felt more isolated also had higher rates of depression, high-blood pressure and diabetes. The link, he said, may reflect a cluster of health risks rather than a direct cause.
“While they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia,” a psychotherapist says. (iStock)
Amy Morin, a Florida-based psychotherapist and author, said the findings reflect a broader pattern in research on loneliness and brain health, and that the relationship may be more complex than it appears.
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“The evidence shows there’s a link between loneliness and cognitive decline but there’s no direct evidence of a cause and effect relationship,” she said. “So while they can go hand-in-hand, it’s not clear that loneliness contributes to dementia.”
Morin added that loneliness, which can fluctuate, may not be the root of the problem, but rather a symptom of other underlying mental or physical health issues.
Researchers suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging. (iStock)
She said staying socially and mentally engaged is crucial for overall brain health.
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“It’s important to be proactive about social activities,” Morin said. “Joining a book club, having coffee with a friend, or attending faith-based services can be a powerful way to maintain connections in older age.”
The researchers also suggested screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.
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