5 October
Hip Fractures
My friend Tom was recently in the hospital with a broken hip. She had been hiking in Big Bend National Park in Texas and fell. It was quite an ordeal with a rescue by helicopter.
Once in the hospital emergency department, Tom was informed that she had a subcapital fracture of the right hip. Fortunately, she did not break her arm as well.
She had surgery the next morning and is back home now. She is even starting to hike again. But. she still owes $29,767 on her hospital bill.
Fortunately, these days, most histories of people with a broken hip end up the same way. They get some new surgical steel in their hips and get back to their usual activities. However, it would be nice if that subcapital hip fracture could be prevented in the first place! You could sure save a lot of money and pain.
The good news is that there is much you can do these days to prevent hip fractures. Most hip fractures happen because the bone is weak. In fact the bone will often break because it is weak and the person will fall because of the broken bone. The weakness or thinning of the bone is called osteoporosis.
Factors That Increase Osteoporosis
One of the things that we all tend to do as we get older is slow down. Unfortunately for those of us who are couch potatoes, the bones get more fragile when we are not hiking as much. So, they break easier. In fact, most hip fractures occur after the age of 65.
Women get two to three times as many more hip fractures as men. That is because after menopause, the hormones change to make it more likely to get osteoporosis.
If others in your family tended to have fractures late in life, you have a higher risk of getting them also. Genetics play a factor in the strenght of your bones.
What you eat and your personal habits affect your bone strength. A diet low in calcium causes weaker bones. Also, you can be taking in enough calcium, but if you are taking it in with lots of meat and milk, you actually need more, because those foods make it harder for your body to absorb it. Smoking and alcohol use also contribute to thinner bones. Nutrition. A low calcium dietary intake or reduced ability to absorb calcium. Vitamin D is also necessary to absorb and use your calcium.
Preventing Osteoporosis and Hip Fractures
Exercise causes a small electrical current to stimulate the cells on the outside of the bone into making your bones thicker. Exercise also strengthens the muscles that support your joints. An exercise program will therefore increase your bone strength.
Medications exist that your family doctor can recommend that will strengthen your bones. Your doctor can do a bone density test to see if you need medications such as hormone replacement therapy and calcitonin to help your bones.
Some things can make you fall easier and break your hip even if it is not weakened by thinning. Some medications can make you dizzy. If your eyesight is poor or you have trouble walking, you can fall more easily. You probably need to compensate for these problems with a walker or changes in glasses.
Finally, do away with those things that weaken your bones like smoking and excessive alcohol drinking.
Using these simple steps can greatly make your bones stronger and minimize your chances of ever breaking your hip.
