Tuesday, July 17, 2012
No bones about it: osteoporosis screenings are important
Our bones are alive and constantly growing and changing.
Throughout our life, some bone cells are dissolving and being replaced by new ones.
With this continuous turnover of new bone cells, most of our
skeleton gets replaced every 10 years or so. But for some people, the bone loss
outpaces the new growth and thinning of the bones occurs. This is called
osteoporosis. The bones become
porous, brittle and prone to fracture.
A bone density scan can test for thinning of the bones at an
early stage. Diagnostic Imaging Technologists are able to bring a portable
machine to community sites and measure bone density in the heel, reporting the
result in about 3 minutes.
These clinicians willingly spend hours leaning over the
portable machine during one of these screenings because they are performing
such an important service. For example, at a recent employee health fair at
Electric Boat, 116 people were screened; 31 were found to have osteopenia, an
early stage of osteoporosis, including four men under age 32, and three women
under 42. This is vital information to initiate more extensive testing, follow
up care, treatment.
What causes osteoporosis, especially in young people? Most commonly, genetics, poor
diet, stress, sedentary lifestyle, and tobacco use.
The following steps can help protect your bones, according
to the National Osteoporosis Foundation:
• Get calcium and Vitamin D. The building block of bones is calcium, but our bodies
can't absorb it without Vitamin D.
Calcium-rich foods include low-fat dairy like yogurt, and foods
fortified with calcium. Fatty fish such as salmon and tuna are good sources of
Vitamin D.
• Stop smoking and drink less alcohol. The chemicals in cigarettes are harmful
to bone cells. More than one alcoholic drink a day may decrease bone
formation.
• Exercise at least 30 minutes daily, perhaps with a brisk
walk.
We can’t change our genetic make-up, but we can make some
lifestyle changes to ensure our bone health.
Alice Facente is a community education nurse for the Backus
Health System. To comment on this column or others, visit the Healthy
Living blog at www.backushospital.org/backus-blogs or e-mail Ms. Facente or any of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org.
# posted by ----------------- @ 8:16 AM 
