According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation( www.nof.org) :
“Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more
likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis
can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. These broken bones, also
known as fractures, occur typically in the hip, spine, and wrist.”
While any bone can be affected, of special concern are fractures of the
hip and spine. A hip fracture almost always requires hospitalization
and major surgery. It can impair a person’s ability to walk unassisted
and may cause prolonged or permanent disability or even death. Spinal
or vertebral fractures also have serious consequences, including loss
of height, severe back pain, and deformity.
If you look at healthy bones you will see that there are small holes
between the bone cells. In osteoporosis those pores are larger making
the bones brittle and easy to break. The best way to prevent
osteoporosis is to prevent bone loss in the first place. In Rio Del
Mar, California, there are many people who have homes there so they can
easily get exercise walking on the beach. Rio Del Mar beach homes are
favored by many, but one of the advantages they have over other Santa
Cruz beach homes is a very nice long beach and easy access to the sand.
This invites exercise which helps strengthen bones.
Children and teenagers form new bone faster than they lose the old
bone. This means their bones get denser and denser until they reach
what experts call peak bone mass, which happens around 20 years old.
After you reach peak bone mass, the balance between bone loss and bone
formation might start to change. In other words, you may slowly start
to lose more bone than you form. In midlife, bone loss usually speeds
up in both men and women. For most women, bone loss increases after
menopause, when estrogen levels drop sharply. In fact, in the five to
seven years after menopause, women can lose up to 20 percent or more of
their bone density.
The best ways to prevent that massive loss of bone is to make sure you
keep your calcium levels up. Taking a multivitamin can be
helpful, but for menopausal/post menopausal women a higher dose of
calcium may be needed. Calcium is nice on its own, but it is
only part of the story. Vitamin D helps your body to absorb calcium.
The NOF recommends 1,200 mcg of calcium and 1,000 mcg of vitamin D each
day. If you have a severe deficiency of vitamin D you may
need to take as much as 100,000 mcg per week.
The third aspect of preventing and treating osteoporosis is
exercise. Bones are like muscles– they strengthen as they
are used. Here are some exercises that can be done: some are high
impact and others are low impact for those who cannot do the high
impact exercises.
High Impact Exercises
• High-impact aerobics
• Hiking
• Jogging/running
• Jumping Rope
• Stair climbing
• Tennis
• Dancing
Low Impact Exercises
•
Elliptical training machines
• Low impact aerobics
• Stair-step machines
• Walking (treadmill/outside)
The best approach to preventing osteoporosis is really three-pronged:
keeping up levels of calcium, vitamin D, and exercise. Some of the
calcium can be taken from your diet, so can the vitamin D. Leafy green
vegetables are often good sources, such as spinach, kale and others.
Exercise is a necessary evil for every age group, but is especially
important for those of us who are over 50. Getting out and walking is
an easy way to start your exercise. While you don’t need a Rio Del Mar
beach house, to start, a walk around the block is a great way to start.
You will find with more walking a greater connection to your neighbors
and community. Start slowly, with your physicians’ guidance and
exercise yourself to health and strength. Be sure to check
out the National Osteoporosis Foundation’s website at
www.nof.org for more information on this process.
