Four Steps To Prevent Osteoporotic Fractures
Osteoporosis is, unfortunately, a fairly common condition, which happens when the bones begin to thin. This leads to the possibility of a fracture typically in the hip or spine, which can be quite uncomfortable and lead to chronic pain. Since this is so common, it's important to know these four steps to help prevent it:
- Know the Risk Factors: There are some risk factors that you cannot control. This includes age, gender since women are more commonly susceptible to osteoporosis, family history, and race since Asians and Caucasians are more at risk. If you know your sick factors are high because of this, then you want to pay careful attention to eliminating the risk factors that you can control, such as calcium deficiency. Be sure that you are getting enough calcium, which you can get from foods other than milk. Calcium can also be found in broccoli and almonds.
- Get Tested: Getting a bone density test is a good idea for any women over the age of 65. At this point, the risks of developing osteoporosis are higher than ever. When you are tested, you can then move onto treatments and lifestyle changes if necessary because bone density is low.
- Follow the Treatment Plan: If you are found to have osteoporosis, preventing a fracture obviously becomes much more relevant. This is why it's important to follow your treatment plan to a T. This is going to be developed with your doctor and it will include things such as quitting smoking, a change in diet, exercise routines, and more. If you find these things challenging, it's important to consider the help of a live-in nurse, especially if you are older than 65.
- Monitor: Finally, you want to be sure that you are monitoring your treatment of the osteoporosis. This way, you know if the treatment plan is working and whether or not further changes need to be made. You will want to continue your doctor visits more regularly for bone density testing, which is the best way to evaluate the success of your treatment plan.
When you take these four steps, you can avoid an osteoporosis fracture. This means you are at a much lower risk for requiring surgery to be done. You are also going to see a reduction in the chronic pain you are suffering, which leads to a better lifestyle, especially in old age when keeping your lifestyle healthy and free from pain is even more important. To learn more, contact a company like Radius.