Silent diseases often get overlooked simply because we don’t seem to get any symptoms, or we forget about preventing them in the first place. It can be much more difficult to care for our bone wellness after we’ve been diagnosed with brittle bones, so it’s important we’re not influenced by any myths that make us think we are immune from getting the condition.
Don’t ignore aches and pains
Many of us feel at the prime of our wellbeing when we’re younger rather than older. But we can still get diagnosed with osteoporosis before we reach our senior years. It’s true that the condition is linked with advanced age and this is simply because we lose bone cells over time. But age isn’t the only reason we can get brittle bones. In fact, we can get it if we have had some hormone treatments, an early menopause, take specific medications or have gland/digestive issues. If we suddenly lose height or our posture undergoes changes then we should make an appointment with our GP to rule out brittle bones, whatever age we are.
More than calcium
Calcium builds strong bones, but it isn’t enough on its own. It needs another mineral – Vitamin D – to help our bodies absorb it. Sometimes we may not get enough of this vitamin in our diets or via sunlight to process calcium, so a visit to our doctor can highlight ways to boost it in our bodies, either via diet or supplements. Health boards also recommend that both men and women take a look at their calcium intake, as it’s a condition that affects both genders.
Being active
When we get a diagnosis like osteoporosis we may want to stay safely inside so we don’t put ourselves at risk of fractures that could cause serious complications. But health allowing, clinicians say that we should work to preserve the bone density we have via two different kinds of exercises. These are resistance (where our body takes our weight) and strength training activities as they can promote our bone mass and may help prevent us getting osteoporosis.
Comments are closed.