A dear, close friend of mine has broken a few bones in her time. As a child, she had the uncommon misfortune of being born with a dislocated hip, what's now referred to as developmental dysplasia of the hip, a condition more common in females than in males.
My friend spent the first months of her life in a cast that held her legs in 2nd position grand plié (for those of you who don't know ballet, her feet were turned outward 180 degrees by the cast and bent at the knee). No sooner had she gotten out of that contraption and up on her legs again than she fell off a deck and broke a leg.
During her college years, she gained some weight and so began to restrict her diet. She was wonderfully successful at attaining the look she desired, but she didn't realize the cost: Her new diet was harming her bones. Then, she took a stumble and broke her humerus, the large bone in her upper arm. Low and behold, by age 25 she had developed osteopenia, or thin bone density.
Osteopenia is the precursor to osteoporosis. The latter implies the bones are thin little sticks as opposed to the strong logs most of us have that can bear the force of a common fall. We hear a lot about osteoporosis on TV, as in that ad featuring Sally Field. It's a pleasant little commercial and a nice reminder, but it doesn't show the true burden of osteoporosis.
I've met more than a few frail, elderly women who've stepped off a curb and ended up with a broken hip. It's more than distressing, in a harried ER, to see a usually reserved, older woman moaning with pain with a motionless leg that's oddly twisted. The biggest challenge for her is going to be making it through surgery and rehabilitation. The more time it takes her to get up and moving again, the more likely she is to develop a blood clot, which could prove fatal if it travels into the lungs.
The incredible thing is that some very simple measures can strengthen our bones and greatly reduce the risk of a fracture. Here are a few bone-strengthening tips you can start practicing today:
- Eat a diet rich in calcium. If you don't eat dairy, then take a supplement. Aim for 1,200 to 1,500 mg daily. There are so many choices: pills, fruit chews, chocolate chews, Tums. it doesn't matter which you choose. Take one with each meal when you're not eating any dairy. It is important to divide the dose since your gut can only absorb so much calcium at a time.
- Supplement with vitamin D. Our skin can make bountiful amounts of this vitamin (which helps our body absorb calcium) when exposed to UV light. Unfortunately, that exposure can also contribute to the development of skin cancers and aging. Also, in northern latitudes, there can be long stretches of insufficient exposure during the winter months.
Not many great dietary sources for vitamin D are at hand, so go for a supplement. Many of the calcium preparations also contain vitamin D. Aim for 600 to 800 IU daily. (Note: an additional benefit of vitamin D is that it may boost energy and lessen muscle pain.) - Do weight-bearing exercises. Did you know that the astronauts lose bone density during their missions? Operating in zero gravity, their bones can't do enough load-bearing work to keep themselves strong.
- Celebrate estrogen. Dwindling estrogen levels, as happens during menopause, can lead to a rapid loss of bone. If you are no longer having regular menstrual cycles, your bones are at risk.
Younger women with normal estrogen levels can also become susceptible to bone loss if they are exposed to certain other conditions, such as having an eating disorder or taking progestin-only birth control like Depo-Provera. Consider bone-density testing and pursue other medication options with your doctor.
