Doctor’s Senior Exercise & Health Newsletter

February 15, 2002
Issue Vol. 2 No. 4

In This News Letter
Introduction
Healthfully Yours
Health Hint

Introduction***

The Doctor’s Senior Exercise & Health Newsletter is written bi-weekly, solely for information to help seniors, baby boomers and anyone else who may have an interest in staying healthy, living a vigorous, active lifestyle and combating the aging process. The newsletter also includes know-how in the form of useful tips and links to more extensive material on the Internet. It is not meant to prescribe treatments for any particular condition except as something that the individual may wish to discuss with their healthcare professional.

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The Doctor’s Senior Exercise Newsletter strives to give you the best available news that we hope will help you in your efforts to maintain a vigorous, pain-free and happy lifestyle. However, you should always seek advice from your healthcare professional before trying any new treatments that you may feel can help you. Discussing your intentions with your doctor is always the proper procedure.

Healthfully Yours***

Maintaining a healthy body depends largely on maintaining a healthy structural framework. This framework is of course the skeletal system. As we age, there can be a decrease of bone mass. Bone is made up of a porous network called “trabecular bone”. (It resembles a very fine sponge).

In addition the bone is made up of mineral (inorganic) and a non-mineral (organic) matrix.

The body constantly is in the process of breaking down and restoring the matrix of the bones in our body. During this process, if the body removes this matrix and is not restoring it at an equal pace, the condition of “Osteoporosis” will develop. This process starts in childhood and affects much more women than men. It also affects more whites than blacks. The failure of the body to restore the organic and inorganic components of the bones results in loss of bone mass. This generally starts in young adult life.

The loss of this trabecular bone tissue generally affects the spine, neck of the femur (thigh bone), and the far end of the radial bone (at the wrist), shoulder, and the ribs. Although these are the most commonly affected areas, other bones of the skeleton may also be involved. As we age, this condition worsens if left unchecked.

There can be many reasons for the loss of bone mass. Some of which are, hormonal, poor intestinal calcium absorption, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise. A sedentary lifestyle can and will lead to loss of bone mass. When poor nutrition, plus the sedentary lifestyle starts in early adulthood, it will eventually become age related osteoporosis.

The loss of bone in one or more vertebrae can result in crush fractures. This generally occurs at the 8^th thoracic vertebra and below, which is about the middle of the back. The individual may or may not be aware that this has occurred. The spine is involved in weight bearing and at first there may not be any symptoms, but when symptoms do occur they may just start as an ache. In time, this ache may develop into an extremely painful condition. The individual will develop a rounded condition of the back (kyphosis). If this roundness affects the upper back, we often refer to this as “Widows Hump”. Very often a trauma, such as a fall can cause an exacerbation of a condition that has been dormant for a long period of time.

When an ache seems to start for no apparent reason, the individual should see his/her healthcare provider to find the cause. X-rays of the spine will give a definitive diagnosis if a crush fracture is present. When other fractures do occur, there will be an incident involved such as a fall or auto accident. With these fractures there will almost always be immediate pain. Spontaneous fractures can occur in individuals who have severe osteoporosis. In this person a bear hug can easily fracture one or more ribs. They can also have a hip fractured without falling.

Prevention is still the best way to avoid the pitfalls that will almost certainly occur, as we get older. The senior must do everything in their power to help slow the progress of any of the above-mentioned problems. In those cases where bone loss is not too great, it is up to the individual to slow its progress. In others with more severe bone loss, they need to restore as much bone mass as possible. This is not impossible if they follow and adhere to certain practices. Read about these practices in our Health Hints below.

Health Hints***

Maintaining bone health and preventing the further deterioration of bone mass loss is and should be a chief concern of all seniors. They should have a game plan, or settle on a regime best suited for their own lifestyle. In other words, the individual who is working must plan differently than the one that stays at home all of the time. For example, the working person will eat differently than the person who stays at home. Nutrition is one of the most important components in maintaining the mineral and protein components of bone mass.

There is a misconception that if you drink enough milk and eat enough dairy products, you will have strong bones. Unfortunately that is not exactly true according to recent studies. It has been shown in countries that have a high dairy and milk consumption, have a higher incidence of fractures. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t drink milk and eat dairy products. It just means that you shouldn’t rely on them alone to give you strong bones. Dairy products should be eaten in moderation because of their high fat content.

To increase your calcium intake, you must include green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, and Romaine lettuce. Sardines are an excellent source of calcium. To assure the proper absorption of calcium you must have enough vitamin D. Sources of vitamin D are, fish, cod liver oil, and the dairy products. But, here again you must watch your intake because of their high cholesterol content.

In addition to the calcium and vitamin D, you should have enough magnesium. Good sources of magnesium are the green leafy vegetables, fortified whole grain cereals, oysters, scallops, most nuts, beans and bread.

To assure you have enough of the daily requirements of calcium, vitamin D and magnesium, supplementation can be taken daily. Calcium 1200-1600 mgs daily is what the body requires. In order for the body to absorb calcium, vitamin D is necessary. The body produces vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun. At least 15 minutes of sun will provide enough vitamin D. To ensure that you are getting enough vitamin D, supplementation is suggested. Up to age 50 the daily requirement would be 200 IU, for age 51 to 69, 400 IU, and for age 70 and above 600 IU is the required dosage. Magnesium 30 mgs should also be taken to insure you have enough in your diet. This supplementation will give you the necessary calcium, vitamin D and magnesium to insure good bone health. It not only will insure good bone health, but it is the necessary requirements to maintain a healthy heart.

There are different forms of calcium. The source of the calcium you take will determine how well your body absorbs it. Calcium from bone meal, or oyster shell is not the best form of calcium because of the body’s inability to absorb it. Calcium from carbonate, citrate, aspartate, or all 3 sources is the best form that the body will readily absorb.

I conjunction with eating a healthy, nutritious diet, the most important thing you can do to assure good bone health, is exercise. The type of exercise will depend upon the individual’s physical capabilities. Exercising on a daily basis will keep your muscles flexible as well as your arteries, and will add bone mass to give you strong bones. Age is not a factor in exercising. No matter what your age is, you must exercise to have a healthy body.

As stated above, it is up to the individual to find and maintain a regular exercise program. If you haven’t been exercising, start slowly, even for five minutes, and gradually add five minutes a week until you have reached 20 to 30 minutes. Don’t depend on an exercise program alone. Stay as active as you can. Walk, swim, run, bicycle ride, engage in any sport, whatever. The average person needs some incentive to find the time to exercise. Staying fit and vigorous, as you grow older is more than enough of an incentive.

Frankly, until about 5 or 6 years ago I was one of those individuals who couldn’t find the time to exercise, being busy with my practice. I would give my patients exercises and tell them how important it is to exercise. When I finally realized that I had neglected myself, I decided to develop an exercise program that would not require any equipment, and that I could do at home at my own convenience. That is how the “Doctor’s Senior Exercise Program” was developed. I needed a program that will suit the average senior, so that they can exercise at his or her own pace according to their physical capabilities, and when it was convenient for them. By doing this they were able to set their own goals according to their physical capabilities.

This is not meant to be a lecture, but I just want to impress upon you the importance of exercise in maintaining a healthy skeletal structure with strong bones that can help you avoid fractures that so frequently plague seniors. Statistics show that almost a quarter of a million seniors will sustain a fracture of some sort. Unfortunately, most of those fractures will be of the hip, the worse kind of fracture. It doesn’t matter what exercise you do, just do something that will challenge your muscles and ligaments. Keep that body moving!

Doc Cane

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