How to prevent osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a common condition in the UK. One in three women and one in five men aged 50 and over will suffer an osteoporotic fracture. Today also happens to be World Osteoporosis Day (WOD), which was first marked by the UK’s National Osteoporosis Society in 1996.

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a slow developing condition that weakens your bones. It makes them fragile and more likely to break. Women are affected approximately four times more than men and for all, the risk increases with age.

Wait, do I have it?

The first sign is often a broken bone from a minor fall or accident – the most common are wrist and hip fractures and fractures of the spinal bones.

Take the one-minute osteoporosis risk test on the World Osteoporosis Day website to help determine if you’re at risk. It’s really quick, there are only 19 questions.

Can I prevent osteoporosis?

Yes you can prevent it, providing you take action early!

There are three key things you can do to help prevent osteoporosis.

• Regular exerciseThis is a no-brainer, you want to strengthen those muscles to protect the bones, so obviously strength training, weight-bearing and balance training exercises are also good.
• Eating healthy, calcium and vitamin D. Key to bone health is calcium, protein and vitamin D.  Try and eat foods that are rich in calcium and vitamin D and make sure you’re getting your protein – we all love to visit carb city but make sure you’re getting enough protein.
• Avoid smoking and excessive drinking. We all know these are bad for you whether it’s preventing osteoporosis or something else, a healthy body is key and these are not part of that.

If you take the one-minute osteoporosis risk test and find that you are high risk, you should bring this to your doctor’s attention – they will be able to help take extra precaution and protection from getting a fracture and/or prevention osteoporosis.