When I was younger, in my forties, I remember hearing about ‘older’ women with fragile bones and how important it is to stay active and strong. That sounded nearly ridiculous to me, then. THEN, not now.
I used to think nothing of scrambling onto a counter top or the corner of a wobbly chair to hang a curtain rod or get cobwebs out of a corner. THEN, not now.
A simple fall from tripping over a rug or missing a step previously seemed somewhat harmless. THEN, not now.
A ‘fragility fracture’ occurs when bone mass is weakened by age or disease. Often, these fractures happen after normal activity. Once experienced, these fractures place a person at a ten-fold risk of it happening again.
Jennifer Jerele, M.D., orthopedic surgeon at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio states “Fragility fractures are most common in women who have osteopenia and osteoporosis, which both occur as we age and our bone density stops accumulating. Unfortunately, osteoporosis is not a disease that can be felt or seen and therefore may go unnoticed until a fracture occurs.”
The most common fragility fractures occur in the wrist, hip, or spine. The sad truth is that we accumulate bone density until we hit 30 years of age and after that, we gradually start losing it. THIRTY, not sixty or fifty or even forty.
This malady especially affects women after menopause. Their bone density tends to drop dramatically unless they make lifestyle changes or begin medication.
The best way for a woman to know if she is at risk for osteoporosis or fragility fractures is to have her bone density tested through a DEXA scan. The scan compares the density of a person’s spine and hip to that of a healthy 25-year-old. This provides a T-score, which helps guide future treatment.
So the lifestyle changes mentioned above are something we can all do, for free! Nutrition and exercise are important. Adding weights or strength training exercises to daily or weekly activities is a first, positive step. Also, taking calcium and vitamin supplements can be helpful. Increasing these vitamins provide a 25% risk reduction of hip fractures in older adults. That is pretty huge.
And lastly, try to reduce risk of falls at home; move furniture out of walkways, add a nightlight to pathways, remove or secure area rugs. Geez…do I sound old.
Accepting the reality is difficult. However, denying it is worse.
I will be purchasing a sturdy step-stool and stop using kitchen chairs and wobbly boxes for reaching up to complete tasks. I will try to keep my traffic pathways clear of stuff. I will secure precarious throw rugs.
I will also up my strength training and add calcium to my routine. And I will schedule a DEXA scan.
Bring it, 25-year-old.