Posts Tagged fractures
Vitamin D may Reduce the Risk of Fractures and Osteoporosis
Vitamin D. As children, we were told to drink milk because it provided Vitamin D and calcium, a substance that could help to keep our bones strong. Increasingly, however, evidence is being gathered that vitamin also helps to keep bones strong.
New studies, in fact, point to vitamin D to treat osteoporosis and lessen the amount of bone fractures in the elderly. Osteoporosis is a major health issue for an estimated 44 million Americans and in the year 2000, the number of osteoporotic fractures in Europe was estimated at 3.79 million.
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Osteoporosis – Are You at Risk?
There is no doubt that osteoporosis is a disabling disease with one third of women and 8 percent of men having a lifetime risk of developing it. Osteoporosis is a gradual weakening of the bones caused by a reduction in bone density.
Unfortunately it has virtually no outward symptoms until it is well established, hence it’s nickname of the ’silent killer’. With osteoporosis your bones become fragile and brittle and so are easily broken. As more severe bone loss occurs, then even minor accidents can result in fractures, most frequently in the spine, wrist, hip and pelvis. If the condition becomes advanced, and is untreated, then the vertebrae of the spine are prone to compression fractures, which affect surrounding nerves and organs. This also results in a loss of height for which the old nickname was ‘the dowager’s hump’ as it was frequently seen in the bent over posture of old ladies. It is also accompanied by chronic pain.
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Osteoporosis and Osteopenia Explained
ARE YOU ENSURING THE HEALTH OF YOUR BONES?
It is easy to go through life, focusing on the “important” issues we face – taking care of the family, doing the shopping, working at our jobs, making sure our homes are clean. But how often do we really focus on ourselves? Especially on our health.
Oh yes, we may occasionally go to our doctor for a physical or perhaps we have a recurring health problem that brings us to doctors. But are we really doing everything we can to ensure the health of our bones? Probably not. It is all too common that we do not ask questions about our bone strength or about osteoporosis until a lot of damage is done.
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