CHENNAI: Maintaining good bone health not only helps with mobility and giving structure to the body but also protects all the organs. Bones produce haemoglobin and aid towards blood formation. They control calcium and other mineral levels in the body by absorbing and releasing it when necessary. Calcium helps in the contraction of muscles, heart and nerves.
Posture and exercise play a key role in maintaining bone health. Wrong posture results in a host of problems such as stressed and weak ligaments, and muscle spasms leading to a stiff neck or back. Instead of the bones and joints taking the weight, the ligament and muscles are affected with severe pain and stress due to poor posture. Always practise sitting or standing erect.
While working, it is crucial to take frequent breaks to relax the muscles. Practise stretching, yoga, or even walking every hour or during breaks. Now that a larger number of people are working from home during the pandemic, it is essential to have a designated comfortable space to work in. Do not use the bed as your workspace as the muscles and ligaments bear the brunt of the weight, thus causing strain. Invest in an ergonomically designed chair and table. It is recommended to have the laptop screen match your eye level, which will minimise slouching or looking down. This will ensure a pain-free neck and back.
Prevent and protect
The elderly are most prone to bone injuries and accidents due to poor balance and weak eyesight. Even though bones are the hardest part of the body, the elderly are likely to be affected with bone fractures that can even occur on its own due to the weakness of the bone scaffolding (called osteoporosis) further leading to a fall.
Toddlers and children are also prone to bone injuries while playing, due to lack of stability and balance. Children are also susceptible to growing pains in their bones due to sudden growth spurts, which need not be of much worry to parents.
As post-menopausal women and older men have lower calcium levels, they must include calcium supplements along with the traditional pirandai (also known as Veldt grape) to their diet to ensure optimal calcium absorption to prevent osteoporosis. To take care of bone health, it is mandatory to exercise. Exercising stimulates the bones, muscles, and ligaments. An hour of exercise — be it swimming, running, yoga, etc., —must be included in one’s lifestyle.
Ensure to consume foods rich in vitamin D3, phosphorous and calcium, and include green leafy vegetables, eggs, nuts, seeds meat, dairy and seafood in your diet. Daily sunlight exposure for healthy bones is important. Balanced food, and foods addressing all deficiencies must be introduced to children in their early years for strong and healthy bones. This can prevent bone issues like rickets, osteomyelitis, bow legs, and more. Deficiency of vitamin D3 is highly common in our country due to removal of all minerals in RO water practised in India. Ideally, one must consume boiled groundwater, rich in essential minerals and vitamins.
Take action
Bones have the capacity to heal and regenerate on their own. An orthopaedic surgeon requires precision and caution while operating on patients. Our aim is to always align and correct bone deformities and aid towards the healing of the injury at the earliest with minimal pain. With technological advancements and minimal invasive treatments, any fracture can be treated.
When met with an injury, it is important to maintain a positive attitude and seek orthopedic treatment to help quicken the healing process and get back on the road to recovery. When admitting a family member into a hospital, always do your research to understand if the hospital follows strict hygiene and social distancing protocols. During this pandemic, we have treated trauma cases through road accidents; be it fractures of the arm, wrist, leg etc.
There were many hip fractures amongst the elderly having osteoporosis. We are braving tough times and were able to save and successfully treat all our patients during this pandemic. It surely is a stressful and challenging time for us to treat and communicate with the patients while ensuring their safety from the virus. Our surgeries now take longer due to the uncomfortable PPEs but it is a truly rewarding experience to help and heal the people even during times like this. The writer is the HoD of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Fortis Malar Hospital, Chennai.
Even though bones are the hardest part of the body, the elderly are likely to be affected with bone fractures that can even occur on its own due to the weakness of the bone scaffolding, further leading to a fall.
Do not use the bed as your workspace, as the muscles and ligaments bear the brunt of the weight, thus
causing strain.
Consume foods rich in vitamin D3, phosphorous and calcium, and include green leafy vegetables, eggs, nuts, seeds meat, dairy and seafood in your diet.
Practise stretching, yoga, or even walking every hour or during breaks.
Ideally, one must consume boiled groundwater, rich in essential minerals and vitamins.
Toddlers and children are prone to bone injuries while playing, due to lack of stability and balance.
Foods addressing all deficiencies must be introduced to children in their early years for strong and
healthy bones.
Wrong posture results in a host of problems such as stressed and weak ligaments, and muscle spasms leading to a stiff neck or back.
Children are also susceptible to growing pains in their bones due to sudden growth spurts, which need not be of much worry to parents.
As post-menopausal women and older men have lower calcium levels, it is a must for them to include calcium supplements along with the traditional pirandai (also known as Veldt grape) to their diet .