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Hip Fractures

My friend Hazel Hayes was recently in the hospital with a broken hip. She had been hiking in Yosemite National Park in California and tripped over a rock. It was quite an ordeal with a rescue by helicopter.

Once in the hospital emergency department, Hazel found out that she had a displaced intertrochanteric fracture of the right hip. Fortunately, she did not fracture her ankle as well.

She had surgery right away and is back home now. She is even beginning to hike again. But. she still owes $18,649 on her hospital bill.

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

The good news is that there is much you can do these days to prevent hip fractures. Most hip fractures happen because the bone is weak. 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

One of the things that we all tend to do as we get older is slow down. Unfortunately for those of us who like to sit around all day, the bones get thinner 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 hormones change to make 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

Stress on the bone causes a small electrical current to stimulate the osteoplast cells to make your bones stronger. Exercise will also strengthen the muscles that support your joints. An exercise program will therefore improve your bone strength.

Helpful medications are made that your doctor can prescribe that will help your bones get stronger. Your doctor can perform a bone density test to see if you need medicines such as hormone replacement therapy and calcitonin to help your bones.

Some things can make you fall easier and break your hip even if it is not weakened by thinning. Some medications can cause dizziness. If you need different glasses or you are unsteady on your feet, you can fall more easily. You may need to compensate for these problems with a walker or a new glasses prescription.

Finally, avoid those things that worsen osteoporosis like smoking and excessive alcohol intake.

Use these steps to simply and greatly improve your bone strength and diminish your chances of ever getting a subcapital hip fracture.

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