Osteoporosis predisposes to fractures. The main causes of fractures are the following.
1. Nowadays, in winter, the temperature is low and the ground is slippery due to rain and snow, which makes the elderly easily slip and fall.
2, the elderly tend to wear thicker winter clothing to resist the cold, but this also brings a lot of inconvenience to the life of the elderly. Thick and clumsy clothing makes the elderly who already have mobility problems fall, the chances of falling greatly increased.
3, the elderly as they get older, the reaction force is gradually becoming slower, slow and bulky action also increases the risk of falls.
4, the elderly gastrointestinal function becomes poor, often to vegetarian diet, coupled with reduced exercise, easy to cause calcium loss in the bone, the incidence of osteoporosis significantly increased, which is also the main reason for fractures in the elderly.
In addition, some elderly people suffer from chronic diseases, such as diabetes, rheumatoid diseases, Parkinson’s, or are overweight and overweight, which also increase the chance of fracture. Among them, the risk of fracture is two to three times higher in elderly women than in men due to the drastic changes in hormone levels in women.
Osteoporotic fractures are more harmful to older adults and require attention to.
1. Although the mortality rate of wrist fractures is low, the disability rate is high: if lost or mistreated, the impact on the function of the upper limbs is greater. Because of the inflexibility of the legs of the elderly, the function of the hand is superior to the quality of life, and with a wrist disability, it is quite difficult to take care of oneself.
2. Hip and vertebral fractures have high disability and mortality rates.
Hip fractures are especially common and serious in the elderly. With the arrival of winter, the incidence of hip fracture is also gradually increasing, becoming a common and serious injury in the elderly. It is especially important to note that hip fracture has a high disability and mortality rate, and statistics show that about 14%-50% of patients die within one year after the fracture due to complications.
Symptoms of hip fracture.
The chances of a hip fracture killing a patient directly are low, but the real scary part is that the immediate and long-term serious complications of a hip fracture often lead to death in the elderly. Patients with hip fractures are usually elderly, mostly in their 80s, with limited mobility, and they also have many comorbidities and reduced cognitive function. Often, they tend to suffer from diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and decreased lung function, which may cause further damage to the already diseased organs once the fracture occurs. After hip fracture, they usually need to stay in bed for a long time, which will easily cause or aggravate the complications of fracture, such as bed sores, venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and urinary tract infection.
How to prevent osteoporotic fractures.
1.Rain and snow, slippery ground, minimize going out and indoor activities.
2. Dress warmly, but try to be light. Buy clothes and shoes should not just focus on cheap, non-slip, good quality.
3.Choose a fitness method that suits you, try to avoid strenuous exercise or unscientific fitness methods, such as: climbing, running and jumping, walking backwards, falling whip, riding electric bikes, hitting trees, etc.
4, early prevention and systematic treatment of osteoporosis. Such as: ensure sufficient sleep, more sunshine, reasonable meat and vegetable diet, scientific exercise, Chinese and Western medicine combined with “anti-osteoporosis” program: under the guidance of a specialist can be selected to strengthen the kidney bone Chinese medicine preparations, salmon calcitonin, Alun phosphate, Lysergic acid sodium, etc.
How to treat
1, wrist fracture: early Chinese medicine orthopedic, closed manipulation reset, small splint or plaster fixation, most of them only need to be fixed for 4-6 weeks, in the middle and late stages of removal of external fixation after the external application of Chinese medicine or external washing, in order to facilitate recovery. Features: less injury, less pain and more ideal healing.
2.Hip fracture: the primary purpose of treatment should be to let patients “get out of bed early”.
Hip fractures can be divided into femoral neck fractures and intertrochanteric fractures, and different treatment plans should be formulated according to the different fracture sites and the patient’s own physical characteristics. Fractures of the femoral neck can be treated with artificial joint replacement, which is a mature technique and can be performed as early as one week after surgery, reducing the burden on the family and society and significantly improving the quality of life of the patient. As for intertrochanteric fractures, the current concept is that as long as the patient and his family agree and scientific evaluation is done, he can receive early surgical treatment to fix the fracture, such as anatomical locking plates for the proximal femur, or a long-stemmed double-action femoral head replacement can be performed. End bed rest as early as possible and get down to the ground early to prevent the occurrence of morbidity. At present, the orthopedic department of Chinese medicine hospital has formed distinctive features in treating hip fracture by combining Chinese and Western methods, and the effect is also very remarkable.
The combination of Chinese and Western medicine is used throughout the whole treatment process of the patient: preoperative emphasis is placed on a holistic approach and a scientific and rigorous assessment of the patient’s physique to determine whether the patient is suitable for surgery and which type of surgery is appropriate. Before the surgery, the patient’s body is conditioned as a whole, blood transfusion is given to those who are anemic, protein supplements are given to those who lack protein, and psychological counseling is given to those who have fears or doubts about the surgery to dispel the patient’s worries and prepare them for the next step of the surgery. The postoperative rehabilitation also injects the characteristics of Chinese medicine into it, for example, adopting the Fu Zheng therapy, giving the patient some Chinese medicines to nourish the qi and blood and strengthen the spleen, so as to alleviate the patient’s adverse reactions after surgery and enhance nutrition; guiding the patient to carry out functional exercises of the limbs as early as possible to prevent and reduce the complications, so that the patient can get out of bed and achieve self-care as soon as possible.
3. Thoracolumbar vertebral fracture: minimally invasive treatment is preferred. Vertebroplasty is performed under local anesthesia only. Features: small injury (two small stitches), fast results (fast pain relief, most of the next day out of bed), low risk.