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Primary Care
Associates, P.C. AnMed Health Campus 2000 East Greenville Street Suite 1600 Anderson, South Carolina 29621 Telephone: 864.226.9193 |
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OSTEOPOROSIS PREVENTION The answer, according to Dr. Harry Geisberg of Primary Care Associates in Anderson, is osteoporosis, or brittle bone disease. In South Carolina, 61,400 people will suffer broken hips as a result of osteoporosis in the next 20 years and many of them will die. Other bones commonly broken when people have osteoporosis are the wrist and upper back bone. While osteoporosis can affect men as well as women, it is predominantly a women’s health issue. This is because women have smaller bones than men, Dr. Geisberg said, and thus have less bone to lose. "It’s like a bank account," he said. "For the first 30 years of your life, you are building bone. After that, you ‘withdraw’ it at a rate of 1 percent a year. During menopause, bone is lost at an even higher rate." Besides sex and age, other risk factors for osteoporosis include race (Caucasians and Asians are at higher risk); a maternal family history of hip fracture; a personal history of bone fracture after age 40; cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol use; calcium and Vitamin D deficiency; inactive lifestyle; treatment with certain drugs including steroids; anorexia or other eating disorders; and not having estrogen replacement therapy at menopause. Small, light-framed women with light hair are classic osteoporosis victims, but slim women over 5 foot 7 are also at risk because of the physiology of their hip joints. Osteoporosis is a highly preventable disease, Dr. Geisberg said. In addition to not smoking, women can head it off by getting plenty of calcium in their diets and by exercising regularly. Most women in the Southeast consume 300-400 milligrams of calcium per day, Dr. Geisberg said. They should be consuming 1,000+ milligrams a day. In addition, they should get 400 units of Vitamin D; most multi-vitamins provide just 200 units. The easiest way to get the calcium and Vitamin D you need is by eating or drinking three dairy products a day – milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream. If you don’t tolerate milk, calcium supplements are second best. The other important preventative measure to take is getting weight-bearing exercise. (The weight you bear is your own.) Dr. Geisberg said anyone who does not spend at least four hours a day on their feet is at risk for osteoporosis. Walking or running for 30 minutes four times a week will help strengthen your bones and ward off breakage in your old age. For questions about osteoporosis and other health problems, call the Partners Nursewise Line 24 hours a day. It’s free and confidential. The number is 261-2001 in Anderson County, or 1-888-525-1333 in Oconee, Pickens or Hart counties. *My notes said age 50, the hand-out said age 40.
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