Sticks and stones may break your bones, but so may osteoporosis. At least, in your middle-age years. Half of all Americans age 50 and older—54 million—are at risk for breaking a bone.
Licensed physical therapists Karen Beale and Brittany Pabon, rehabilitation experts with Lee Health outpatient rehabilitation services at Cape Coral Hospital, share tips for keeping your bones healthy to reduce your risk of osteoporosis. If you already have the condition, you’ll also learn important steps to slow its progression and improve your quality of life.
Karen and Brittany are Bone Fit Trainers that are certified through the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation. Bone Fit is an evidence-based exercise training workshop for healthcare professionals and exercise practitioners who work with clients with osteoporosis.
“Osteoporosis is a risk factor for fracture, like high blood pressure is a risk factor for stroke,” Karen says. “A condition that causes bones to become thin and porous, osteoporosis is often called the ‘silent thief’ because bone loss occurs without symptoms. Some people don’t even know they have sustained a fracture or have low bone mineral density.”
Building a strong skeleton in childhood and adolescence will provide benefits as we age. Women and men begin to lose bone in their mid-30s. And women, when they go through menopause, lose bone at a greater rate than men, Brittany says.
