The health of the elderly has long been a topic of concern, and yesterday also coincided with World Osteoporosis Day. The elderly are prone to osteoporosis, which, combined with poorer balance, bone, joint and muscle degeneration problems, and combined cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, has a high chance of causing fractures from accidental falls. Today, we will tell you how to prevent osteoporosis and fracture in the life of the elderly, so that you can pay attention to the easily neglected osteoporosis and fracture in the elderly. Correct understanding of osteoporosis In the eyes of most citizens, osteoporosis is calcium deficiency, which is actually a misconception. Among the pathological changes, osteoporosis is mainly a reduction in the content of bone matrix and bone minerals, making the bone brittle and prone to fracture, while calcium is only a part of the bone minerals, therefore, osteoporosis is not just a simple lack of calcium. Osteoporosis in the elderly is mostly primary and is caused by natural aging. The more serious consequence of osteoporosis is the tendency to induce fractures in the crestal thoracolumbar vertebrae, wrists and hips. Because of the presence of osteoporosis as a basis for fractures in the elderly, most fractures do not require severe violence, but often only minor external forces. Therefore, in addition to acute violent trauma such as falls and bruises, these fractures can also be caused by inadvertent injuries such as lifting heavy objects, bumps in a car, sneezing or sudden twisting of the waist. For this reason, every elderly person should not ignore the effects of osteoporosis, and prevention and treatment in their lives are especially important. Chinese medicine is concerned about the health of the body, usually in the process of consultation often heard the elderly said that they have osteoporosis, so drink bone soup every day to supplement calcium, this statement is not scientific. Bone soup does not play a role in calcium supplementation. On the contrary, if bone broth is drunk too much, it is too nourishing and greasy for the elderly, but it causes excessive blood lipids and hinders the normal blood nutrient carrying and transfer, which will cause tissue malnutrition and aggravate the condition of osteoporosis. The elderly should pay attention to dietary balance, strive to achieve food diversity, follow the balanced principle of meat and vegetarian dishes, coarse grains and fine grains with each other. Second, the elderly should eat more alkaline food to prevent calcium loss. Although vegetarian food contains more alkaline substances, elderly people should not eat vegetarian food completely, otherwise it will affect the absorption of calcium. In terms of calcium recipes, dairy products, shrimp skin, fish bones, animal bones, sesame paste, beans and eggs are good choices, among which milk is not only high in calcium, but also the lactic acid in milk can promote the absorption of calcium, which is the best natural source of calcium. In particular, although “shrimp skin” is the best calcium supplement, there are shortcomings, its high salt content, when eating can be blanched with water before consumption. In addition, I hope that older people will tell their children that prevention of osteoporosis should start at a young age, when they are young, they should pay attention to proper activities, improve the quality of life, improve the quality of their bones, pay attention to the prevention of osteoporosis, do not smoke and drink alcohol, avoid excessive carbonated drinks, coffee and strong tea. Choose the right exercise for you For the prevention of osteoporosis, many people know that calcium supplements should be supplemented with vitamin D, but they do not know that proper outdoor exercise and exposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun are also very important. Some elderly people are afraid of the cold in autumn and winter and sunbathe through window glass, which does not work. Vitamin D can only be activated in the liver and kidneys and effectively combined and utilized with calcium by direct exposure to the skin through ultraviolet light. Therefore, it is recommended that the elderly receive sunlight in outdoor sports, which can be beneficial to the treatment of osteoporosis and can also achieve a strong body. Among all kinds of exercises, the elderly can do low and medium intensity exercises, such as walking, jogging, aerobics, taijiquan, qigong and so on, including some bedside jerking and leg lifting movements. For example, some people like to play Taiji, but playing a full set may not be physically possible, so you can use individual simple movements that can be tolerated repeatedly, such as standing high pile of cloud hands, knee kneading and bending step combined with inverted humerus and other combinations of movements. And the amount of exercise to “practice to sweat and body has a little soreness is appropriate, to the next day does not feel fatigue as degree”. In particular, he pointed out some cautions that the elderly can easily ignore, such as avoiding exercise on the edge of the river and potholes, and warming up before exercise. In order to do self-protection, he suggested that older people wear brighter clothing to remind people passing by to “avoid”; carry suitable crutches, walking aids, to increase the stability of the body. Be aware of the hidden dangers around you Few people know that the home is the primary place where falls and fractures occur in older adults. The more cluttered and disorganized a home is, the more potential fall hazards there are for the elderly. If the sofa and bed are not at the right height, seniors will struggle to get up; if they walk past the light and phone lines, or if there is too much clutter on the ground, they will easily trip and fall. These are the “invisible killers” that cause falls and fractures in the elderly, but are often ignored by family members. In this regard, it is recommended that seniors and their youngsters regularly clean up their rooms and adjust the layout of their belongings. In addition, it is important to install switches or lamps by the bedside and night lights in the corridor, especially for elderly people with cataracts and diabetic retinopathy, so that the environment is bright and clear. Many elderly people fall because they are not sufficiently awake to stand up at night. Most elderly people have a history of taking medications to a greater or lesser extent. It is worth noting that many drugs can affect a person’s mental, spiritual, visual, gait, balance and other aspects and cause falls, the main ones are psychotropic and cardiovascular drugs. Sleeping and sedative drugs can cause dizziness, painkillers may also make a person unconscious, while overdosing on antihypertensive and hypotensive drugs may cause fatigue and low blood pressure, which are also potential risk factors. Therefore, elderly people should be reminded to take medication as prescribed by their doctors, not to use medication arbitrarily, avoid taking multiple drugs at the same time, and understand the side effects of medication, and to move slowly after taking medication to prevent falls and fractures.