A. 11 tips for osteoporosis prevention and treatment
1, osteoporosis is a chronic disease that can be prevented and treated.
2, people of all ages should pay attention to the prevention of osteoporosis, infants and young people’s lifestyles are closely linked to the occurrence of osteoporosis in adulthood.
3, a balanced diet rich in calcium, low salt and moderate protein is beneficial to the prevention of osteoporosis.
4.Smoking increases the risk of fracture in both men and women.
5. Do not drink alcohol in excess. Daily alcohol consumption should be limited to the standard beer 570ml, white wine 60ml, wine 240ml or aperitif 120ml.
6, walking or running, etc. can play a role in improving bone strength.
7, an average of at least 20 minutes of sunlight per day. Adequate light will play a very critical role in the production of vitamin D and calcium absorption.
8, weight-bearing exercise can allow the body to obtain and maintain maximum bone strength.
9. Prevent falls. More than 90% of fractures in the elderly are caused by falls.
10.High-risk groups should go to regular hospitals for osteoporosis testing and early diagnosis as soon as possible.
11.Compared to no treatment, it is not too late to start treatment at any stage of osteoporosis, but early diagnosis and early treatment will greatly benefit.
II. Key points of knowledge
(A) What is osteoporosis?
1.Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease in middle-aged and elderly people.
2.Osteoporosis is a systemic disease, which is mainly characterized by low bone mineral content, destruction of bone structure, reduced bone strength and susceptibility to fracture.
3.Pain, hunchback, height reduction and fracture are the characteristic manifestations of osteoporosis. However, many osteoporosis patients often have no obvious feeling in the early stage of the disease.
4.Osteoporotic fractures are fragility fractures that usually occur after daily weight bearing, activity, bending and falling.
5.Fracture is a direct consequence of osteoporosis, affecting the function of the body in mild cases and causing disability or even death in severe cases. The common fracture sites are the low back, hip and arm.
(B) the dangers of osteoporosis.
1, osteoporosis is the fourth most common chronic disease and the most common bone disease in middle and old age.
2, osteoporosis is known as the silent killer. Fracture is a serious consequence of osteoporosis and is often the first symptom and reason for consultation in some osteoporosis patients. Mortality due to various complications reaches 20-25% within the first year after hip fracture. More than 50% of survivors will have varying degrees of disability.
3. The direct financial burden of an osteoporotic hip fracture patient is RMB 32,776 per year. The direct economic burden of osteoporotic hip fracture in China is RMB 10.8 billion per year.
(iii) Etiology of osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is influenced by both congenital and acquired factors. Congenital factors refer to race, gender, age and family history; acquired factors include drugs, diseases, nutrition and lifestyle. Old age, female menopause, and male hypogonadism are all causes of osteoporosis.
(D) High-risk groups of osteoporosis.
People with the following factors are at high risk for osteoporosis: old age; female menopause; maternal family history (especially family history of hip fracture); low weight; low sex hormones; smoking; excessive alcohol or coffee consumption; low physical activity; calcium and/or vitamin D deficiency in the diet (low light exposure or low intake); diseases affecting bone metabolism; application of drugs affecting bone metabolism.
(E) Prevention of osteoporosis.
1, osteoporosis can be prevented and treated.
2, people of all ages should focus on the prevention of osteoporosis, infants and young people’s lifestyles are closely linked to the occurrence of osteoporosis.
3, the mineral content of human bones reaches its highest in the 30s, which is medically called peak bone mass. The higher the peak bone mass, the greater the “bone mineral bank” reserve in the human body, the more delayed the occurrence of osteoporosis in old age, and the less severe.
4, after the elderly actively improve diet and lifestyle, adhere to the calcium and vitamin D supplementation can prevent or reduce osteoporosis.
5.Balanced diet: increase the intake of calcium and moderate amount of protein in the diet and low salt diet. Calcium intake has an irreplaceable role in the prevention of osteoporosis. Smoking, alcoholism, excessive intake of caffeine and high phosphorus drinks will increase the risk of osteoporosis.
6, moderate exercise: human bone tissue is a living tissue, people in the movement of muscle activity will continue to stimulate bone tissue, making the bones stronger. Exercise also helps to enhance the body’s responsiveness, improve balance function and reduce the risk of falls. This makes osteoporosis less likely to occur.
7. Increase sunlight exposure: The Chinese diet contains very limited vitamin D. A large amount of vitamin D3 depends on the synthesis of the skin after receiving ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Regular exposure to sunlight will play a very critical role in the production of vitamin D and calcium absorption. The average normal person receives at least 20 minutes of sunlight per day.
Tip: Sunscreen and umbrellas also increase the chances of osteoporosis in women. The usual lack of outdoor light, and go out to apply thick sunscreen or use the umbrella, will affect the synthesis of vitamin D in the body.
(F) Early diagnosis and standardized treatment to reduce the harm.
1, osteoporosis at any stage to start treatment is better than no treatment. Early access to formal examination and standardized medication can minimize the risk of fracture, relieve bone pain and other symptoms, and improve the quality of life.
2, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis need to be carried out under the guidance of a doctor, and its prevention and treatment strategy includes two parts: basic measures, acupuncture and physical therapy and drug treatment.
3.Basic measures include lifestyle modification and basic bone health supplements. Lifestyle modification: a balanced diet rich in calcium, low in salt and moderate in protein; attention to appropriate outdoor exercise; avoidance of smoking and alcohol abuse; careful use of drugs that affect bone metabolism; and various measures to prevent falls. Basic bone health supplements include calcium and vitamin D.
4.Acupuncture and physiotherapy are traditional Chinese medicine treatments, and there are many specific therapies, including electric acupuncture, moxibustion and herbal fumigation. Medication includes anti-bone resorption drugs, drugs to promote bone formation, and some drugs with multiple mechanisms. They must be applied under the guidance of physicians.
(vii) Self-testing for people at high risk of osteoporosis.
Tip: People at high risk should go to regular hospitals for osteoporosis testing as early as possible to achieve early diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
The following questions can help in the self-testing of osteoporosis high-risk conditions, and those who answer “yes” to any of the questions are at high risk and should be seen at an osteoporosis specialist clinic.
1.Have you ever hurt your bones because of a slight bump or fall?
2. Have you taken hormonal drugs for more than 3 months in a row?
3.Have you lost three centimeters of height compared to your youth?
4.Do you often drink alcohol excessively? (2 times a day, or only 1-2 days a week without alcohol)
5.Do you smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day?
6.Do you often have diarrhea? (caused by celiac disease or enteritis)
7.Have your parents ever had a hip fracture from a minor bump or fall?
8.Ms. answer: Have you been menopausal before the age of 45?
9.Have you ever had no menstruation for more than 12 consecutive months (except during pregnancy)?
10. Men: Do you suffer from impotence or lack of sexual desire?
Hint: Older, lower weight women need to pay particular attention to osteoporosis, doctors often use the term “skinny old lady” to describe such high-risk groups. In addition, lack of exercise, lack of light is also a risk factor for osteoporosis for young people.
(H) Myths of osteoporosis.
1, drink bone soup can prevent osteoporosis. Experiments have shown that the calcium content of the same bowl of milk is much higher than that of a bowl of bone broth. For the elderly, bone broth dissolves a large amount of fat in the bone, and regular consumption may also cause other health problems. It is important to pay attention to a varied diet, eat less fatty food, insist on drinking milk, and should not consume too much protein and caffeine.
2, treatment of osteoporosis is equal to calcium supplementation. Simply put osteoporosis is caused by abnormalities in bone metabolism (osteoclasts affect more than osteoblasts in the body, and the rate of bone resorption exceeds the rate of bone formation). Therefore, the treatment of osteoporosis is not just calcium supplementation, but a comprehensive treatment to improve bone mass, enhance bone strength and prevent fractures. Patients should go to a regular hospital for diagnosis and treatment.
3. Osteoporosis is a phenomenon unique to the elderly and has nothing to do with young people. Osteoporosis is not the “patent” of the elderly, if you neglect exercise in your youth, often picky or dieting, unbalanced diet structure, resulting in low calcium intake in the diet, thin body, and do not refuse bad hobbies, so that the ideal amount and quality of peak bone can not be achieved, it will give osteoporosis the opportunity to invade young people, especially young of women. Therefore, prevention of osteoporosis should be started early so that the ideal peak bone mass can be obtained at a young age.
4. It is too late to treat osteoporosis in the elderly. Many elderly people think that osteoporosis cannot be reversed and that treatment is no longer effective in old age, so they give up treatment, which is a great pity. From the point of view of treatment, the earlier the treatment, the better the effect. Therefore, once the elderly are diagnosed with osteoporosis, they should receive regular treatment to reduce the pain and improve the quality of life.
5.Discovery of osteoporosis by self-perception. Most patients with osteoporosis do not have abnormal sensations or feel insignificant in the early stage. Do not rely on self-perception to detect osteoporosis, and do not wait until you notice your back pain or fracture before going to the clinic. High-risk groups should go to hospitals with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for regular bone density tests, regardless of symptoms, to help understand changes in your bone density.
6, osteoporosis is a minor disease, treatment does not need to be trivial. Osteoporosis is usually more than just back pain, once a fragility fracture occurs, especially hip fracture in elderly patients, resulting in long-term bed rest and high mortality.
7, osteoporosis treatment on their own medication can be, without the need to see a specialist. For patients who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, they should go to a regular hospital early and receive comprehensive treatment from a specialist.
8, osteoporosis is prone to fracture, it is better to be still than to move. Maintaining normal bone density and bone strength requires constant exercise stimulation, and lack of exercise will result in bone loss. Physical exercise has a positive effect on the prevention of osteoporosis. In addition, if you do not pay attention to physical exercise and osteoporosis occurs, muscle strength will also be reduced, and the stimulation of bones will be further reduced. This will not only accelerate the development of osteoporosis, but also affect the flexibility of the joints and make it easy to fall and cause fractures.
9. After fracture surgery, the bones are normal. The occurrence of a fracture often means that the osteoporosis has become very serious. Fracture surgery is only a treatment for localized lesions, while the risk of fracture in the whole body bones has not been changed. Therefore, not only do we need to actively treat fractures, but we also need to objectively evaluate our bone health in order to diagnose and treat osteoporosis in a timely manner and prevent the recurrence of fractures.