Osteoporosis - Not Just a Part of Aging

BOSTON (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Rochelle Cohn is remodeling her home. She's changing the bathroom, kitchen and master bedroom. But this isn't to get a modern look. This is a precaution -- in case her body starts to fail her. Rochelle was diagnosed with osteoporosis in her early 40s. She started fracturing bones every time she fell.

"It didn't even occur to me before that to be concerned about my bones," she says.

Elinor Mody, M.D., a rheumatologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston says most women don't think about it -- or believe osteoporosis is just a normal part of aging.

"It shouldn't be viewed as something inevitable," Dr. Mody says. 

What you do up until age 35 can make a huge difference. Weight-bearing exercises and taking calcium and vitamin D supplements starting in your 30s can keep bones stronger, longer. What puts you at higher risk? Being thin and Caucasian, having a family history, and taking steroids like prednisone for a medical condition.

Dr. Mody says you need to be screened with a bone density test before you have the full-blown disease. "It's sort of the equivalent of treating cardiac disease after the first heart attack. We need to get in there early and treat early," she says.

Rochelle takes a weekly medication and practices yoga to improve balance and lower her risk of falling.

"I'm doing everything to try to keep my body as healthy as possible. I've lived long enough to know that though that still might not work, and therefore I'll have a house that will support me no matter what happens," Rochelle says.
 
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Elinor Mody, M.D.
Brigham and Women's Hospital
75 Francis St.
Boston,  MA  02115
[email protected]

 

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