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Doctor’s Senior Exercise & Health Newsletter October 1, 2002 Issue Vol. 2 No. 13 In This Newsletter Introduction*** The Doctor’s Senior Exercise & Health Newsletter is written monthly, solely for information to help seniors, baby boomers and anyone who may have an interest in staying healthy, living a vigorous, active lifestyle and combating the aging process. It does not constitute the practice of medicine and is not meant to prescribe treatments. It is offered strictly as an educational aid. Any medical problems you may have, we recommend that you seek the help of your physician or other healthcare professional. Discussing your intentions with your doctor is always the proper procedure. The newsletter also includes know-how in the form of useful tips and links to more extensive material on the Internet. You may wish to share this newsletter by sending a copy to a friend, neighbor or relative and suggesting they subscribe to it. Website: http://www.doctorsexercise.com How to subscribe: Click Newsletter on left menu at website for more info and to subscribe or browse directly to: http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/dsenews E-Mail address: newsletter@doctorsexercise.com Healthfully Yours*** CALCIUM, “DON’T GIVE UP ON IT”. Baby boomers and particularly those over 50 are much more in need of calcium than in prior years. Sadly, calcium has been a neglected mineral throughout the years, especially during our young and formative years. From about the age of eleven to our early twenties, the body is building bone mass. It is during these years that the body needs proper amounts of calcium, plus vitamin D to enhance the absorption of calcium. While calcium and vitamin D are the most important components in building bone mass, other trace minerals are needed. These minerals are, phosphorous, magnesium and fluoride. More later. It is during the age of 35 to 40 that bone mass will start to decline at about 1or 2 percent, and women are more prone to this decline than are men. As women reach menopause the decline can have reached 25 percent. That does not mean that men will not develop osteoporosis due to this loss of bone mass. Other risk factors are:
As bone mass declines, bones will become brittle and weakened making them more susceptible to fractures. There are more than 25 to 30 million Americans that are at risk for complications of osteoporosis. Fractures do not occur only due to falls or other trauma. Fractures can occur spontaneously in those with severe osteoporosis. The individual will feel a sharp stabbing pain, possibly hear a loud cracking sound that most likely will occur in the hip, and they will fall. They will be unable to move or get up, and be in excruciating pain. These spontaneous fractures can also occur in other areas of the body, such as the wrists, ribs, spinal vertebrae or ankles. As we age we also become more susceptible to stress fractures. We have heard of such fractures occurring in athletes, particularly runners. These stress fractures or micro traumas as they are known, occur in baby boomers as well as the senior, most often in the spine and pelvis. The stress of daily living, the effects that gravity exerts on the body, all play a major role in this phenomenon. Other factors are, weakening of the body’s supporting structures, such as stretched ligaments or weaker muscles. There are other causative factors that will contribute to the development of stress factors and are related to the ongoing progression of osteoporosis in the elderly. Changes in the body’s metabolism will reduce its ability to absorb the needed calcium and other necessary minerals to maintain a normal bone mass. The hormone balance of the body may diminish or cause an imbalance that interferes with the proper absorption of the needed nutrients to maintain the bone mass level. The individual with a more advanced osteoporosis will also be prone to compression fractures of the vertebrae. The vertebra weakened by the loss of bone mass causes the bone to become porous. These vertebrae will react to influences such as poor biomechanics and over-use, plus poor shock absorption, aggravated by gravity. These influences contribute to the collapse of the vertebra. Causing that vertebra to actually be crushed. This is an extremely painful condition due to the nerve impingement involvement. Stress fractures will often heal in about 10 to 12 months, and possibly longer in older individuals. Treatment should start with bed rest for about 2 weeks. After about two weeks, the individual should start on activities that do not place undue stress on the area of fracture. Start an exercise program that will gradually increase the range of motion. Stretching exercises, walking and swimming are excellent forms of exercise. Walk only on flat surfaces and not up or down steps. Stair walking combined with the body’s weight and the influence of gravity will place too much stress on the affected area or areas. Walking and exercising in the pool can also be very beneficial because the water will help decrease the affect of gravity on the fractured area by adding buoyancy. Having knowledge of the why we need a diet rich in calcium from our very early years would have saved millions of women, and men from the agonies of osteoporosis. However, it is never too late to enhance our diets so as to further prevent and even improve our bone health. Read on in the Health Hints how we can achieve this so important component to a healthy and vigorous lifestyle, free of pain and discomfort. Health Hints*** Regardless of the dietary indiscretions of the past, most everyone can benefit from eating the proper foods that will improve bone mass. Improving one’s bone mass will stop the progression of osteoporosis and even improve the condition itself. Any such improvement can prevent stress fractures and fractures due to trauma. These are the foods that should be included in your diet.
In addition to eating the above foods in your daily diet, we must consider the possibility that most of us will still not be eating enough of the foods to give us the necessary daily requirements. It would be wise to supplement even the healthiest diet with a calcium supplement. Make certain the supplement has the needed Vitamin D that will help in the absorption of the calcium. Magnesium, another much needed mineral should be supplemented in addition to the trace minerals of Copper, Phosphorous, Fluoride, Boron, Silicon. Vitamin K should be included. Following are the daily requirements to maintain optimum bone health.
The other minerals are trace amounts and are usually found in a good multi-vitamin supplement. Maintaining healthy bone mass and preventing or improving osteoporosis, is not just eating a healthy diet as described above. The MOST IMPORTANT part of your diet regime is starting and maintaining an exercise program. The keyword is move your body whenever possible. Walk, whenever possible up and down the stairs, especially up. Take long brisk walks. Swim and ride a bicycle when possible. Play sports if so inclined. In addition to being active as described, start an exercise program, and stick to it. When starting an exercise program you must be motivated to do so, or you will give up on it within a very short period of time. It has been found that if you stay with an exercise program for 3 months, your motivation will keep you on that program. Many people do not like to go to gyms for a variety of reasons. That is why you may want to consider an exercise program such as the “Doctor’s Senior Exercise” program. Check it out at: http://www.doctorsexercise.com. This is a program that is done in the privacy of your home, at your convenience. It takes only 15 to 20 minutes and no special equipment or gadgets are needed. It is a non-impact program that will give you a total body workout. You can obtain more information on osteoporosis and about calcium from the following sources: National Osteoporosis Foundation….1-800-223-9994. Calcium Information Center Hotline….1-800-321-2681. The final word is that keeping your body moving whenever possible, exercising and maintaining a healthy diet, will keep your bones strong and your body healthy, and prevent you from becoming a fracture statistic. Doc Cane Copyright, Disclaimer, and Trademark information Copyrightă 1997-2002 Emanuel M. Cane. All rights reserved. Except stated below, this material or parts thereof may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed by any means whatsoever without explicit, written permission from the author. ************* You may circulate copies of the Doctor’s Senior Exercise & Newsletter by Manually forwarding it, providing you forward the issue in it’s entirety, no fee is involved, and you may forward no more than three issues to any one individual. You may not attach advertising or otherwise modify the text of the newsletter. |
