Hip fracture

Hip Fractures

My friend Febin was recently in the hospital because of a broken hip. He had been hiking in Campus in and fell. It was quite an ordeal with a rescue by air rescue.

Once in the emergency department, febin was informed that he had a nondisplaced subcapital fracture of the left hip. Fortunately, he did not fracture his pelvis too.

hhe had surgery the next morning and is back home now. He is even starting to hike again. But he is stil pending to pay his hospital bills.

Fortunately, today, most people with a broken hip end up walking with a new scar. They get some new surgical steel in their hips and get on with their lives. However, it would be nice if that broken bone could be prevented! You would sure save a lot of money and pain.

The good news is that you can do a lot these days to prevent hip fractures. That is because most hip fractures happen because the bone is weak to begin with. In fact the bone will often break because it is weak and the person will fall because of the broken bone. The weakness or thinning of the bone is called osteoporosis.

Factors That Increase Osteoporosis

Something we all tend to do as we get older is give up activities. Unfortunately for those of us who like to sit around all day, the bones get more fragile when we are not hiking as much. So, they break easier. In fact, most hip fractures occur after the age of 65.

Women get two to three times as many more hip fractures as men. That is because after menopause, the change in the hormones makes it more likely to get osteoporosis.

If others in your family tended to have fractures late in life, you have a higher risk of getting them also.

What you eat and your personal habits affect your bone strength. A diet low in calcium causes weaker bones. Also, you can be taking in enough calcium, but if you are taking it in with lots of meat and milk, you actually need more, because those foods make it harder for your body to absorb it. Smoking and alcohol use also contribute to thinner bones. Nutrition. A low calcium dietary intake or reduced ability to absorb calcium. Vitamin D is also necessary to absorb and use your calcium.

Preventing Osteoporosis and Hip Fractures

Weight bearing activity causes a tiny electrical current to stimulate the cells on the outside of the bone into making your bones more durable. Exercise also strengthens the muscles supporting your joints. A regular exercise program will therefore better your bone health.

There are medications that your family doctor can recommend that will help your bones get stronger. Your doctor can do a bone density test to see if you need specific medications such as hormone replacement therapy and calcitonin to help your bones.

Some things can cause you to fall more easily and break your hip even if it is not weakened by osteoporosis. Some medications can make you dizzy. If your eyesight is poor or you have trouble with your balance, you can fall more easily. You should compensate for these problems with a walker or changes in glasses.

Finally, avoid those things that make your bones thin like smoking and excessive alcohol intake.

Using these simple steps can greatly improve your bone strength and diminish your chances of ever breaking your hip.