The Do’s and Don’ts of Managing Osteoporosis Effectively

Osteoporosis means ‘porous bone’. It is a disease wherein the bone density and thereby its quality decreases, making it fragile and more prone to fractures. Unfortunately, this is a progressive disease that occurs silently. Many times, there are no physical symptoms of its occurrence until the first fracture occurs. Typically bone structure begins to weaken after age of mid-thirties and women are more prone to this ailment than men. However, we find that more cases are prevalent with increasing age as we see more cases of elderly patients with osteoporosis.  

The human bones are living tissue that changes continuously.  These bones develop and strengthen from birth to young adulthood and have the highest density (peak bone mass) in age of early twenties. With age, some of the existing bone matrix gets dissolved while new bones deposit osteoid. In case of osteoporosis, the bone desorption rate exceeds the rate of new bone formation. Thereby the bones weaken and become very brittle.

Major Osteoporosis Risk Factors

• Aging
• Gender (Females are more susceptible)
• Family history
• Earlier cases of fracture
• Phenomenon of Menopause/Cases of hysterectomy surgery in women
• Long term glucocorticoid therapy
• Existence of primary/secondary hypogonadism in men or rheumatoid arthritis

Things to avoid if you have osteoporosis

• High intake of salt which is prevalent in processed meats and foods, baked products, canned foodstuff  like canned soups, vegetables and their juices, fast foods including pizza and burgers
• Consumption of beverages like caffeine, carbonated soft drinks and alcohol
• Habit of Smoking
• Reducing alcohol consumption
• Over consumption of following foods that deters calcium absorption-
• soy foods(This should be supplemented with sufficient intake of calcium)
•  legumes like beans and wheat bran which contain high levels of phytates
• Foods with oxalates like spinach
• Being underweight leading to low Body Mass Index(BMI)
• Poor nutrition, unbalanced diets and eating disorders causing Vitamin D and Calcium deficiency
• Occurrence of frequent falls

Dealing with Osteoporosis

• Although there may be no complete cure for osteoporosis, adoption of lifestyle modifications can greatly aid in reducing its progression and also decrease the risk of fracture. Intervention can be done by making changes in daily lifestyle like
• Having regular workout regimes with weight-bearing exercises like  walking
• Getting moderate exposure to sunlight that aids in natural production of Vitamin D required for calcium absorption.
• Medications that aid in gaining bone density over time and analgesics for pain relief, Heat treatments(warm baths/hot packs),Cold treatments(massages and hypnosis)
• Consuming a healthy diet

Foods for Healthy Bones

Osteoporosis supplements

Mineral	Source
Calcium	Dairy products such as low-fat and non-fat milk, yogurt and cheese Fish like canned sardines and salmon (with bones) Vegetables like collard greens, turnip greens, kale, okra, Chinese cabbage, dandelion greens, mustard greens and broccoli. Fortified foods where Calcium and Vitamin D supplements may be added as in some brands of juices, breakfast foods, soy milk, rice milk, cereals, snacks and breads
Magnesium	Vegetables like spinach, beet greens, okra, tomato products, artichokes, plantains, potatoes, sweet potatoes, collard greens Dry fruits like raisins.
Potassium	Vegetables like Tomato and its sub products, potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, papaya, oranges, orange juice, bananas, plantains Dry fruits like raisins and prunes

• Vitamins for Osteoporosis

Vitamin	Source
Vitamin D	Fatty varieties of such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines
Vitamin C	Vegetables like Red peppers, green peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts Fruits like oranges, strawberries, guava, grapes, papaya and pineapples
Vitamin K	Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, collard greens, spinach, mustard greens, turnip greens and Brussels sprouts.

Nursing Care at Home
The following vital points must be taken care of in nursing osteoporosis patients -

• Involving the patient and their family in all aspects of care including understanding the treatment regimes, diagnostic tests and procedures
• Giving prescribed  analgesics and heat for sustained pain relief
• Aiding the patient in  following  given exercise/therapy schedules and maintaining the right postures
• Encouraging patient’s involvement in self-care to the extent permissible
• Closely monitoring the patient’s pain levels, assessing their response to relief measures and alerting any new pain areas particularly after trauma
• Giving the required emotional and moral support for patients having restricted mobility

Conclusion
Though living with Osteoporosis is challenging, it is possible to sustain it. Adopting an optimal strategy of balanced diets, lifestyle changes, falls prevention, medicinal supplements and physical exercises helps in maintaining stronger and healthier bones in our body.

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