If you have osteoporosis, it is important to treat it directly with medication or calcium supplements. However, it is even more important to avoid the danger that osteoporosis tends to cause: fractures. Implementing fracture prevention measures is one of the most important ways to treat osteoporosis.
According to the National Health Association, osteoporosis causes 1.5 million fractures each year. Damaged bones not only cause pain and inconvenience, they are likely to endanger people’s health and sometimes even have permanent adverse effects on your physical health.
So what should we do to avoid fractures and the painful recovery process after a fracture? Here are 6 tips to prevent fractures that every person suffering from osteoporosis should know. You can consult your doctor or change some habits that can be helpful in reducing the incidence of fractures.
Importance of fracture prevention.
People with osteoporosis are usually prone to fractures. Fractures of the hand joints, hip fractures, and vertebral fractures are some of the most common. The consequences are all extremely serious. Every year, 700,000 people with osteoporosis suffer vertebral fractures, and many of them also suffer from chronic pain as a result. This year, half of the 300,000 osteoporosis patients with hip fractures will not be able to walk again on their own. Even more alarmingly, the fracture-induced syndrome of hip fractures in people over the age of 50 leads to death in up to 20 percent of older patients in just one year.
If you are older and suffer from osteoporosis, falling is very dangerous and your fall rate is even higher. As you age, your body’s bone function decreases, and your vision will begin to deteriorate. You will become more dependent on medications that have a negative effect on your body balance. Little things like frequent bathroom breaks at night can make your chances of falling rise. Basically, the likelihood of falls and fractures increases when a series of minor age-related illnesses occur together.
The good news is that with a few changes in your lifestyle, you can effectively reduce your chances of fractures. Here are some tips.
Calcium in food: We know that dairy products contain calcium and that other things do too.
Fracture prevention tip 1: Improve body balance through exercise Increase physical strength
Many people who suffer from osteoporosis worry that exercise will be too dangerous. In a nutshell, if you go for a stroll or outing on your bicycle, isn’t it more likely that you will fall? Sitting in a comfortable wheelchair should be the best way to prevent falls, right?
Intuitively, the above argument seems to make sense, but the opposite is true. Exercise can actually reduce the chances of falling.
Shreyasee Amin, a rheumatologist in Minnesota, says, “Regular exercise is good for keeping your reflexes quick and your muscles strong.” Exercise has benefits for physical coordination and reduces the likelihood of falls.” If you are physically fit, then your balance is good, so your chances of falling are much lower compared to those of bedridden or weak patients.
In addition to improving your balance and strength, exercise also has a direct effect on your bones. Bone is a living organ tissue. Just like muscles, if you don’t exercise, your muscles will be flabby and weak. By staying fit, your bones are stronger and less likely to dislocate when you fall. Experts generally recommend a combination of weight-bearing exercises (such as walking, resistance-building exercises (such as weight lifting), and flexibility and balance exercises such as yoga or Tai Chi.
However, it is worth noting that it is important to seek medical advice before starting a series of exercises. For some patients with osteoporosis, high-impact exercises, such as jogging or tennis, may not be safe. This is because heavy body blows may cause fractures. Even some seemingly mild exercises can be dangerous for some people with weaker vertebrae.
Fracture prevention tip 2: Be careful when walking
If you suffer from osteoporosis, when buying shoes, you should not just consider the fashionability of the style. Buying an ill-fitting pair of shoes can increase the incidence of falls.
But happily, you don’t have to buy only the so-called “right” shoes. Go for those low-heeled shoes, stand more firmly, instead of buying leather shoes, buy rubber shoes. Sneakers can also be used to avoid falls when walking in large strides.
Again, shoes should be worn in the house. Wearing socks or slippers at home can make it easy to fall.
When you go out for a walk, be safe. When it’s raining or snowing, walk on a grassy path. Because it is easier to fall on a concrete floor. Remember, don’t pile up any waste materials near your home.
If you have arthritis or other conditions that make it difficult for you to walk, be sure to use a doctor-recommended assistance device, such as a cane.
Fracture prevention tip #3: Know the side effects of medications on you
Unfortunately, as you get older, you may need to rely on medications on a daily basis. Any medication has side effects, and some may increase your incidence of falls. Some of the medications that can cause dizziness or loss of balance include the following.
1. painkillers or sleeping pills.
2, drugs to lower blood pressure, these drugs sometimes cause low blood pressure.
3. antidepressants, drugs for antidepressant disorders.
4. anticonvulsants, antitussive drugs, which are used to treat epilepsy and some psychological disorders.
5. muscle relaxants, used to treat back pain or other disorders.
6, some drugs for the treatment of the heart.
7, other drugs such as some corticosteroids, which can easily cause osteoporosis or fractures.
Even if you take a small amount of drugs can increase their risk. Studies have shown that 4 or more servings of any drug can cause a higher incidence of falls.
But what should you do when you, due to other physical illnesses, cannot stop taking these medications? Check the medications prescribed to you by your doctor and take a list of medications or some bottles of medications to your doctor. This is because your doctor, such as your first doctor, may not be aware of the medications prescribed to you by your other physicians such as a cardiologist or a doctor who specializes in colds.
If you are taking medications that increase your likelihood of falling, then you should find a way to fix it. Consult your doctor and ask him or her to reduce the amount of your medication or change it to something else, both of which will help reduce the likelihood of a fall.
Remember, alcohol and illegal drugs are dangerous. Any drug that affects your physical ability will increase your chances of falling.
Fracture prevention tip #4: Keep your home environment bright
As you get older, you may find that your eyesight is not as good as it used to be. There is a correlation between vision and physical conditions, such as vision being affected by diseases like cataracts. But, vision decreases, and this is a natural change that cannot be controlled.
”As we get older, the contrast sensitivity of our vision decreases.” says John Schousboe of the Osteoporosis Clinic in Minnesota, USA. “This makes it harder for our eyes to distinguish between things, especially when it’s darker.” That’s why it’s especially important to keep your home environment bright. Here are some tips.
1. Put lights on the ceiling in every room so you won’t fall over looking for a lamp in the dark.
2, in your bedroom, bathroom, or these places are walking to install night lights on.
3.Make sure all the walkways inside and outside have lights to shine.
4, in your bedside always have a flashlight.
If you are worried that such a large number of electric lights will lead to high electricity bills, then you can consider installing fluorescent lights. Fluorescent lamps can be plugged into the general household socket, its brightness and general incandescent lamps, the power consumption is relatively much less, it lasts longer, so you can reduce the chances of turning on the lights.
Fracture prevention tip 5: Check the safety of the home environment
Perhaps you spend most of your time at home, an important preventive measure is to make the home environment more secure. Amin says, “A lot of people don’t do a good job of checking the safety of their home environment.”
What should we do?
1.Keep the house clean and clear, piles of clothes and newspapers, etc. should be removed.
2, carpeting on the smooth floor.
3.Wire, telephone lines should be away from the floor.
4, in the walkway should be placed on the handrail.
5, in the toilet and bathroom near the installation of handrails.
6.Put some rubber mats on the floor of the bathroom and toilet.
Fracture prevention tips 6: pay attention to physical condition
When you get older, many chronic diseases and health problems come one after another. Some diseases can affect your physical strength and body organ function, increasing your chances of falling. Arthritis can make it difficult to walk. Obviously, vision problems can also directly affect your chances of falling. Chronic pneumonia, hyperthyroidism, cancer, chronic hepatitis, chronic kidney disease and endometriosis are all conditions that have an impact on fractures.
If you have other medical conditions, consult your doctor to find out if those conditions increase the likelihood of a fall. If so, then go and see if there is anything you can do to help. A big problem, however, is that we don’t notice when some conditions appear gradually. For example, you may not notice that your vision is slowly starting to diminish, or that your pace is not as steady as it was. It is important to go to the hospital for frequent checkups, not only for your body and vision, but also to check to see if you have any other medical conditions.
Fractures are not inevitable
Even with great care, some types of fractures are difficult to avoid. In patients with severe osteoporosis, a very minor fall can cause a fracture, Schousboe said, adding that only 10 to 15 percent of vertebral fractures are caused by a fall. Many fractures are caused by physical stress or simple bending and coughing.
But that just goes to show the importance of prevention. Since fractures are out of our control, we should reduce the incidence of fractures. As you get older, fractures are a frequent, but not inevitable occurrence.
Those tips above require you to put in the effort yourself to do the same. If you don’t pay attention to these tips, you will regret it one day when you are lying in the hospital. So it’s best to start acting now to prevent regret.