How To Avoid Osteoporosis?

By Author: Garima Anamdani
Total Articles: 38
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Osteoporosis is a silent killer. There are no obvious detectable symptoms to discover this ailment, which is very common among women. Yet, it is a very harmful ailment. Any spinal injury or hip injury can be dreadful for osteoporosis patients. Most patients get bed-ridden due to a single injury as the chances of recovery are very low and take a lot of time.

Most patients in geriatric ward can attempt to reach back to functional status. The term functional status means being able to do daily activities normally. Due to the severity of this disease, it is sensible to say that prevention is much easier than cure. Here are a few easy steps for the same.

• Which food items promote/discourage bone health?

There are select nutrients that will help you maintain the health of your bones. There are certain food ingredients that will improve the strength and density of your bones, while there are others that are best to be avoided. Given below is the list of food items that you should avoid for better bone health.

• Sodas
...
... • Processed and canned foods
• Fast food
• Baked food
• High sodium foods
• Caffeine

In fact, you can also add Soy to the list above. Though, as a food group, protein is good and helpful in calcium absorption, Soy does hinder the process. So it is best to keep the intake to a minimum. In addition there are ingredients that will help to better the calcium absorption in bones such as:

• Asparagus
• Parsley
• Green tea
• Spinach
• Lemon
• Broccoli
• Oats
• Green beans

• Stop smoking for stronger bones

This is very effective way to prevent this ailment. In fact, there is a lot of scientific research that proves that smoking cessation is good for Osteoporosis treatment as well. It helps you improve your bones

• Keep exercising for bone empowerment

It is scientifically proven that the right kind of exercise will strengthen your bones. The latest research proves that sedentary lifestyle during old age is a contributing factor that causes Osteoporosis. No wonder, then, that the right kind of exercises help lower obesity, slower the aging process and help women maintain hormones that are vital to calcium absorption in the body. As menopause is a leading cause of this ailment among women, exercise works very effectively as a preventing technique.

Though, there are a lot of other risk factors that can be avoided. These are simple daily activities that can improve your chances of preventing this spinal ailment effectively.

Dr Garima Anandani (P.T.), CMP, Dip. MDT
Head- Clinical Operations, Qi Spine Clinic

Dr Anandani is the first clinician from India to qualify for the prestigious Diploma in M.D.T. from The McKenzie Institute International and University of Otago. She has acquired specialized training in Spine rehabilitation from St David's Spine and Sports Therapy, Austin, Texas (USA) and from The Polyclinic, Seattle (USA). She is also one of the few Certified Mulligan Practitioners in India, with over 14 years of clinical experience in handling musculoskeletal disorders