Maintaining Bone Health

A crucial aspect of longevity

As we approach spooky season (Halloween, that is), it’s only fitting that we discuss the skeleton.

Fun fact for you, we have roughly 206 bones in our body as adults — the number varying depending on if a person has extra ribs, vertebrae, etc.

Alright, enough of the Paul Blart fun facts, let’s get down to business.

Maintaining bone strength and integrity is fundamental to living a long, healthy life.

Our bones provide a supportive, protective framework and allow for voluntary movement as muscles pull on them.  

Yet, inadequate bone strength is one of the leading causes for mortality as individuals approach their later years. The terrible spiral occurs – one loses muscular strength which simultaneously weakens their bones and increases the risk of falling. Then, a likely fall has a higher chance of a fracture occurring concurrently.

Here are a few statistics to emphasize the point:

• ~20% of women and ~4% of men over the age of 50 have osteoporosis – severe weakening of bone. These numbers are climbing with a growing older population.

• Roughly 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over 50 will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture in their remaining lifetime.

• Women who experience a hip fracture have a 10-20% greater mortality rate than others their age and a much greater chance of requiring long-term nursing care.

Put simply, maintaining a strong skeletal system is imperative to long-term outcomes.

And there are indeed ways we can intervene on this process.

There are actions we can take that we have 100% control over that will support this system.

However, many are told that once they hit a certain point in their life that osteoporosis is part of the “aging process” and there isn’t anything that can be done about it.

It’s true that building bone strength gets harder – much harder – during our later years. But it’s not impossible and if nothing else, we have the power to stall the degradation process to ensure a bad situation doesn’t turn worse.

Which, unfortunately, can end in deadly consequences.