Posts Tagged ‘Take Control Naturally’
I Can’t Have Osteoporosis – I Feel Fine
This week a patient told me “I can’t have Osteoporosis, because I feel fine!” Osteoporosis is often silent. Osteoporosis can sneak up on you. You do not feel a thing – until the first fracture. And even then you must pay attention to realize that you have been warned.
High blood pressure can hide until the first stroke, or TIA if you are lucky. High cholesterol can hide until the first heart attack, a minor one if you are lucky. Diabetes can be overlooked until your eyesight or kidneys fail, or you lose a leg to ulcers. However, all of these, including Osteoporosis, can be successfully treated before a major problem arrives!!!
Fracture Prevention – Not Bone Mineral Density
The goal of Bone Health Evaluation and Treatment is Fracture Prevention! DXA and Bone Mineral Density (BMD) are useful tools for evaluation. But DXA and BMD are only one out of many tools for bone health evaluation. DXA t-score and BMD should never be the sole goal of treatment.
As an orthopedic surgeon, my goal is always Decreasing Fracture Risk. In the USA we sometimes seem to have forgotten that real goal. We focus too much on DXA t-scores. We should focus on the patient. We should treat “Clinical Osteoporosis”. The patient deserves a complete Bone Health evaluation.
Start with Dietary Calcium
Once again we are warned of the dangers of calcium supplements. Once again those studies cited prescribed supplements without regard to total calcium intake, including diet. What matters is total calcium intake, including diet.
I prescribe a lot of Calcium Citrate for my patients. I would prefer not to. Dietary Calcium is more easily digested than supplements, and appears to hold fewer dangers than Calcium Carbonate or other calcium supplements. Unfortunately, we have lost our taste for calcium rich foods. There are tasty choices.