While you're young, don't forget to save yourself more calcium

October 20 is World Osteoporosis Day, and this year's theme is "Consolidate a Life, 'Win' Fight Fractures"
.
Osteoporosis, as the name suggests, is a loss
of bone density and bone mass due to a variety of reasons.
It causes increased bone fragility and is a systemic bone disease
prone to fractures.

Most people believe that osteoporosis is a concern for
the elderly.
In fact, the prevention of osteoporosis should start
in childhood.
If you can achieve the highest possible peak bone mass at a young age through a healthy lifestyle, the more bone mass you have in adulthood, the less
likely you are to develop osteoporosis in old age.

In life, what other misunderstandings do you have about osteoporosis? Today, the orthopedic surgeon will tell you the truth at once!

Myth 1:

Drinking bone broth can prevent osteoporosis

Experiments have proved that the calcium content in milk is much higher than that in bone broth
.
At the same time, bone broth dissolves a lot of bone fat, so it should not be eaten
too much.

To prevent osteoporosis, we should pay attention to a diversified diet, insist on drinking milk, and eat less high-fat foods
.

Myth 2:

Calcium supplementation is equivalent to treating osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is caused
by abnormal bone metabolism.
Therefore, treatment should not be simply calcium supplementation, but requires comprehensive treatment to improve bone mass, enhance bone strength and prevent fractures
.
Patients should go to a regular hospital for diagnosis and treatment
.

Myth 3:

Osteoporosis is endemic to the elderly

The mineral content in human bones reaches its highest peak bone mass
around the age of 30.
The higher the peak bone mass, the later and less
severe osteoporosis occurs.

If you neglect exercise when you are young, are contaminated with bad habits, and are often picky eaters or dieters, it is easy to lead to a decrease in calcium intake in the diet, a thin body, and a failure to achieve the ideal peak bone mass
.
Therefore, osteoporosis should be prevented early to achieve the ideal peak bone mass
at a young age.

Myth 4:

It is too late for the elderly to cure osteoporosis

Many older people believe that osteoporosis cannot be reversed and that treatment is no longer effective in old age, so they abandon treatment
.
This perception is wrong
.
From a therapeutic point of view, the earlier the treatment, the better
the effect.
Once the elderly are diagnosed with osteoporosis, they should be treated early to reduce pain and improve their quality of life
.

Myth 5:

By feeling yourself, you can find bone looseness

Most people do not feel the symptoms of osteoporosis in the
early stage.
If you find osteoporosis, you can't rely on your own feeling, and don't wait until you have low back pain or a fracture to see for treatment
.
High-risk groups should have regular bone density testing to keep abreast of changes in
bone density.

Myth 6:

Osteoporosis is a minor ailment and no need to make a fuss

Osteoporosis is not only manifested as backache and leg pain, once osteoporotic fractures occur, especially in elderly patients with hip fractures, it will lead to long-term bed rest and high
mortality.
When you feel obvious symptoms such as low back and leg pain and chest tightness, you need to go to the hospital as soon as possible
.

Myth 7:

Patients with osteoporosis can be cured by taking medicine yourself

For patients who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, they should go to a regular hospital as soon as possible and receive comprehensive treatment
from specialists.

Taking medicine is only one of the ways to treat osteoporosis, and even if you take medicine, you need to take
it under the guidance of a doctor.

Myth 8:

Anti-fracture should be quiet and should not move

Physical exercise has a positive effect
on preventing the appearance of osteoporosis.
To maintain normal bone density and bone strength, it is necessary to constantly exercise stimulation, lack of exercise will cause bone loss, not only will accelerate the development of osteoporosis, but also affect joint flexibility, easy to fall and fracture.

Myth 9:

The bones are normal after the fracture surgery

The occurrence of fractures often means that osteoporosis is already very serious
.
Fracture surgery is only a treatment for localized lesions, and the risk of fractures in bones throughout the body has not improved
.
Therefore, patients should not only actively treat fractures, but also objectively evaluate their bone health in order to diagnose and treat osteoporosis in time and prevent the recurrence of fractures
.

Text / Song Chunli (Peking University Third Hospital)

(Editor Li Chuang)