Osteoporosis Can Cause Fracture
Lumbar spine fractures or vertebral fractures in the elderly are actually due to osteoporosis and can easily be caused by even a tumble. Sometimes, when the neurological symptoms after injury are not obvious, the fracture is easily overlooked, thus delaying the optimal treatment time.
What if the Elderly Has Lumbar Fracture?
If the elderly is in poor health and cannot withstand a surgery, conservative treatment is the only option. However, it requires long-term bed rest which is easily to cause pneumonia, thrombosis, bedsores, and other diseases. So even if patients are bedridden, they still need to exercise properly under the guidance of doctors and family members to increase blood circulation and reduce complications.
Patients can wear thoracolumbar braces after 4-8 weeks of bedridden to go to the toilet and get out of bed for exercise. The rehabilitation period normally takes 3 months, and anti-osteoporosis treatment is necessary in this period.
For other patients who are in good physical condition and can tolerate surgery, early surgery is recommended. They can walk on their own the next day after surgery, and this can effectively reduce pneumonia and other complications. Surgical methods include internal fixation and bone cement techniques, which have their own indications, and doctors will make appropriate surgical plans accordingly.
What to Do to Prevent Lumbar Fractures?
Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis is the key to preventing lumbar fractures in the middle aged and the elderly.
How to Prevent Osteoporosis?
1 Nutrition and diet
The first step to prevent osteoporosis is to keep appropriate diet. Some elderly people are not willing to eat foods rich in calcium because of unhealthy diet or other reasons, and that could lead to osteoporosis.
A reasonable diet should include:
Quit smoking, alcohol and carbonated drinks;
Drink less coffee;
Ensure plenty of sleep, and 1-hour sun exposure each day;
Appropriately eat more protein and isoflavone-rich foods, such as milk, milk products, shrimp, and foods containing vitamin C; there are also beans, seaweeds, eggs, vegetables, and meat, etc.
2 Exercise of appropriate intensity
Exercise can increase and maintain bone mass, increase the level of serum sex hormones, and promote the deposition of calcium in bone tissue, which is the best way to maintain bone mass and slow down bone loss.
Exercise suitable for middle-aged and old people include walking, swimming, etc. Exercise should reach a certain intensity but should not be excessive, and the recommended amount of exercise is about half an hour a day.
How to Treat Osteoporosis?
1, Calcium and Vitamin D
When the daily diet does not meet people’s need for calcium, additional calcium supplements are necessary. But calcium supplements alone are not enough, multivitamins including vitamin D are required. Osteoporosis is not a problem that can be solved by taking calcium tablets alone, but more importantly, a balanced diet.
2, Anti-osteoporotic drugs
As people age, osteoblasts are weaker than osteoclasts, so drugs that inhibit bone destruction and promote bone formation are also important for patients with osteoporosis. Relevant drugs should be used reasonably under the guidance of doctors.
3, Prevention of dangers
For osteoporotic patients, the biggest problem is that they are easily to have fracture. Osteoporotic elderly fall is most likely to cause distal radius fracture, lumbar compression fracture, and hip fracture. Once a fracture occurs, it will impose a huge burden on patients and families.
Therefore, dangers such as falling, severe cough and excessive exercise should be avoided.
Post time: Aug-31-2020