Of the 10 million Americans with osteoporosis, 80 percent are women, and having a mother with osteoporosis puts a daughter particularly at risk for fractures.

Priscilla Turner, 67, of Memphis, Tenn., knows this risk all too well. Her 90-year-old mother, Jewell Fondren, suffers from osteoporosis (a disease that causes bone to become weak and susceptible to fracture). During the past 30 years, Fondren has experienced a hip fracture, spinal fractures and has a hunched back that may have been caused by multiple spinal fractures. Fondren, who lives with her daughter, has difficulty walking, cannot bend and finds her clothes don’t fit well because of her hunched back.

Two years ago, Turner seemed to be heading toward the same fate as her mother when she suffered from back pain. Turner saw her doctor and discovered she had a spinal fracture. She was also diagnosed with osteopenia or low bone mineral density that can lead to osteoporosis.

“I just thought I was getting older,” she says. “I didn’t know my bones were breaking, but when my doctor told me I had a spinal fracture, I was very surprised.”

Like Turner, the estimated 44 million Americans at risk for osteoporosis are often unaware that they have the disease until they break a bone, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF). However, today more information is known about the risk factors for osteoporosis and fractures.

If you have low bone mineral density coupled with one or more other risk factors, you are at increased risk of having an osteoporosis-related fracture within the next 10 years, according to a recent publication by the World Health Organization (WHO). These risk factors include a previous fracture, a parent who has had a hip fracture, smoking, taking steroid medications, drinking three or more glasses of alcohol daily and suffering from rheumatoid arthritis or from a disorder strongly associated with osteoporosis.

Less was known about osteoporosis years ago when Turner’s mother was prescribed pain pills and bed rest to manage her osteoporosis-related spinal fractures. Treatments are now available to help strengthen bones, and new procedures have been developed to repair spinal fractures.

When Turner experienced her spinal fracture, her primary care physician referred her to orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Edward Pratt* of the Memphis Spine Center, who treated her spinal fracture with balloon kyphoplasty.

Balloon kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that can reduce back pain and correct the deformity caused by a spinal fracture. Small balloons are inserted and inflated in the fractured area of the spine to restore it back to its normal shape. After the balloons are deflated and removed, the cavity that has been created is filled with special bone cement, creating an internal cast.

Turner is exceedingly close to her mother. They spend afternoons on their parlor couch, reminiscing about their years together or sitting quietly as Turner reads and her mother knits. However, she knows that she does not want to suffer the same fate as her mother.

“Osteoporosis has kept Mama from being as mobile as I knew her years ago,” Turner says. “Her movements are restricted. She cannot bend nor do many activities around the house. Her walking is limited.”

When Turner experienced her second spinal fracture in 2007 and her activities became restricted due to the back pain, she decided to take action to avoid the same fate as her mother. She again had her fracture repaired with balloon kyphoplasty and now exercises regularly and takes prescription drugs and calcium supplements to prevent more bone loss.

“Today I do everything,” she says. “We have a two-story home, and I am always going up and down the steps, and I couldn’t do that before the (balloon kyphoplasty) procedures because of my back pain. I am also gardening again. I walk two miles a day and work out on weight machines. I am a very active person. I don’t sit.”

The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that one in two women and one in four men over age 50 will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. “The world is beginning to gradually wake up and see that osteoporosis is a problem and that the best way to treat it is to stay ahead of it,” says Dr. Pratt.

To learn more about osteoporosis, visit the National Osteoporosis Foundation at www.nof.org. For more information about spinal fractures and balloon kyphoplasty, go to www.spinalfracture.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

* Dr. Edward Pratt of the Memphis Spine Center is a paid consultant of Medtronic

KYPHON(R) Balloon Kyphoplasty incorporates technology developed by Gary K. Michelson, M.D.

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By J.C. Carroll

(NC)-One in four women in Canada have osteoporosis, experts say. This is a disease that robs the body of bone density and puts it in the highest risk category for bone fractures. Taking steps to prevent osteoporosis is essential for everyone, and particularly for women as their estrogen levels decline during menopause.

Keeping your doctor informed about the onset on menopause is the first place to start – and becoming informed about exercise, foods and dietary supplements yourself is equally important.

Learn, for example, about all the foods recommended to nurture, rejuvenate, and fuel the efficient functioning of your body. Learn about botanicals and plant estrogens. Some of them are highly recommended to relieve menopause symptoms, like Promensil, a botanical derived from red clover. This over-the-counter supplement is heavily supported by clinical evidence to slow down the rate of bone loss in both menopausal and younger women.

“Promensil is an isoflavones, one of the plant estrogens,” says Dr. Nachtigall, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University’s School of Medicine. “Red clover has all four of the most important isoflavones and it also has 10 to 20 times the quantity found in soy. Extensive clinical testing indicates that it may be the best natural supplement for menopause symptoms available.”

Here’s a checklist of additional steps you can take to ensure your bones stay healthy and strong:

o Increase calcium and vitamin D intake.

o Limit caffeine. No more than two to three cups coffee, tea, or cola per day.

o Do weight-bearing exercises at least 3 to 5 times per week.

o Discontinue cigarette smoking.

o Avoid excessive alcohol intake.

If you want to know more about how to treat your particular menopause symptoms, including dietary supplements, be sure to speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

Credit: www.newscanada.com

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It’s that time of year again . . . time to warm up with the weather and make good on promises to take better care of ourselves. Yet, we often end up asking ourselves the same age-old question — where to begin? One of the easiest first steps to improving and preserving wellness starts with the very skeleton of our being — our bones.

Building bone mass is just as important as maintaining bone mass and density, especially since the threat of osteoporosis is no longer limited to age. Osteoporosis is almost always a completely preventable disease; however, few of us know enough about the risk factors to begin protecting ourselves and our loved ones.

The widespread lack of knowledge about bone health is evident from a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation in 2006, for GTC Nutrition. This survey found that most Americans underestimate the percentage of young women who are not getting enough calcium during the peak bone-building years. Studies show 90 percent of girls ages 12 to 19 are not getting enough calcium, and more than two-thirds of all respondents to the survey weren’t aware of the extent of this shortfall, including 66 percent of the respondents with children in their households.

Additionally, more than half (55 percent) of the 1,031 survey respondents were unaware that the body absorbs only about 30 percent of the calcium consumed through diet. With osteoporosis on the rise and more than 40 million Americans estimated to suffer from low bone mass by 2010, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, now is the time for the whole family to get hip to bone health.

Although these survey findings are concerning, they underscore the opportunity we have to increase our overall health and well-being by learning more about bone health and the factors that influence it, including calcium absorption. Building strong and healthy bones requires not only consuming a diet rich in calcium but also taking steps to ensure that sufficient calcium is absorbed.

In recent years, food companies have responded by offering “better for you” calcium-enriched food, beverage and supplement alternatives, which may also be enhanced with the novel, all-natural ingredient NutraFlora prebiotic fiber. As a prebiotic, NutraFlora is rapidly gaining awareness for its abilities to significantly improve calcium absorption.

Food products that contain NutraFlora, including baked goods, nutrition bars and dairy products, such as Horizon Organic yogurt lines, now line the shelves at most grocery stores. You can recognize many of them by the NutraFlora seal, a green leaf. Taking action to improve your bones through dietary habits is an important first step on the path to building and maintaining strong bones.

Just as crucial to taking in and absorbing adequate amounts of calcium is the need to exercise regularly. There is no better time of year than the present to get outdoors and build your bones. Whether you decide to increase your bone health by pounding the pavement or lifting weights, your body will thank you for years to come. To learn more about the risks associated with osteoporosis or the benefits of prebiotic fiber visit www.nutraflora.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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