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Osteoporosis
More women are exhibiting
low bone mass
By Jamie Lober, Staff Writer
Medical personnel strive to
respond to the increased incidences
of women with low bone mass. “I
want to see what we can do to start
slowing down the rate of fractures,
because it turns out that one in
two women in their lifetime will
develop osteoporosis fracture,” said
Natalie Eddy, a nurse practitioner at
Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute. “I
am seeing these women fracturing
and not treating the underlying cause,
which is osteoporosis.”
Osteoporosis, according to the
Mayo Clinic, causes bones to become
weak and brittle. “It is a phenomenal
epidemiological problem not just in
the United States but worldwide,”
said Eddy. “Lifetime risk of hip fracture is equal to the combined risk of
developing breast, uterine or ovarian
cancer, so it is a huge problem at the
cost of about $23 billion a year in
2 HAMBURG JOURNAL
direct medical expenditures.”
Every person’s situation is different,
but everyone is at risk for developing
bone health issues regardless of age.
“It depends on what we do with our
bones as they are developing,” Eddy
said. “By the time we are 20 years old,
we have our peak mass of bone [for]
our lifetime.”
Factors that can affect bone health
include poor diet, not getting enough
exercise, certain medications or diseases and genetics. Nutrition makes
a difference. Look for good sources
of dietary calcium, such as milk and
dairy products. “You don’t want to get
too much or too little calcium; you
need about 1,200 milligrams [a day]
or more if you are a younger person,”
said Eddy.
Women are more susceptible to
osteoporosis than men. The best
thing for women to sustain bone
WWW.HAMBURGJOURNAL.COM
health is estrogen. “After estrogen
is gone, there is a natural decline in
bone mass,” said Eddy.
Be sure to get your bone health
checked. “You want to make sure
you get screenings earlier rather than
later,” said Eddy. “Medicare and all
the other clinical practice guidelines
tell us women at age 65 and over
should have a screening every two
years.”
After you have your first bone
density test, you must do it every
two years. “You want to look at your
risk of fracture, so once you get your
bone density you want to look at the
FRAX, which is an online tool,” said
Eddy. “The FRAX was developed by
the World Health Organization to
evaluate your absolute risk of fracture
over the next 10 years. You put [your
information] into your computer and
it comes up with the risk of major
osteoporotic fracture and hip fracture.”
Reading your results is simple. “If
the top number is 20 or above or the
hip is 3 or above, you are at risk of
fracture and should consider bonocological interventions,” said Eddy.
There are several options. “There is
Fosamax, Actonel and Boniva and
generic forms, as well as IV Reclast,”
Eddy said. “Rank ligand inhibitors
like Prolia, which reduces formation
of osteoclasts, have fantastic results.
Forsteo is the only 2O12
[treatment] in the
JANUARY
&
You want to make
sure you get
screenings earlier
rather than later.”
— Natalie Eddy, nurse
practitioner, Lakeshore
Bone & Joint Institute
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world that will give absolutely new
bone growth. It is a hormone that
stimulates the cell to do its job well.”
People of all ages can do something to protect their bones. These
include weight-bearing exercise, walking, stretching and toning with small
weights. “If you are 89 or 90, you can
still lift little weights or a can of beans
or [use] some stretch bands just to
keep those bones moving,” said Eddy.
“The worst thing is to sit around and
get weak because bones need muscles
to help them get up and moving. If
they get weak, everything else in the
body will be affected.”
If you have any questions or concerns about your bone health, talk
with your doctor.