Osteoporosis and Bone health part 2 – This article focuses on other lifestyle factors and the role they play in bone health for youth.

Bone Health and Youth.

Building bones early in life Our last blog spoke of the importance of nutrition to maximise Bone Health and help prevent Osteoporosis or Metabolic bone disease. Today we will outline other factors such as lifestyle and activity, especially for youth.

 

 

Building bones in early life.

For optimal Bone Health, the most crucial time to lay down the foundations of our bones is in the years before we reach our mid-twenties. As outlined by the International Osteoporosis foundation “Approximately half of our bone mass is accumulated during adolescence.” Our genetics will determine up to 80% of the variability in individuals peak bone mass. Factors such as nutritional intake and physical activity will help develop optimal bone strength.

Calcium and protein-rich nutrition boost bone development.

Getting adequate calcium and protein especially between 9 – 18 years old will help reach adequate Bone Health.

The peak age for bone building for girls in 12.5 years and boys is 14 years.

Getting enough of the sunshine vitamin.

Due to an increasingly indoor lifestyle, young people often will not get adequate amounts of vitamin D. Parents can help children maintain a healthy level of this key vitamin. This is done by ensuring children spend more time outdoors playing and being physical, rather than inside on screens. The recommended daily dose of Vit D is 800-1000IU daily.

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM)USA, the recommended daily intake of key nutrients is as follows:

1 – 3 years

700mg calcium and 13g of protein

4 – 8 years

1000mg calcium and 19g of protein

9 – 13 years

1300mg calcium and 34g of protein

14 – 18 years

1300mg calcium and 46g of protein for girls and 52g of protein for boys

Exercise and lifestyle matter.

Physical activity is most important for youth to enhance bone density as young people who exercise regularly show a significant increase in bone mass. However physical activity and diet work hand in hand for people of all ages to enhance bone development.

All information from this information article was sourced from the International Osteoporosis Foundation. You can find more details on the below link. If you have questions about your child’s bone health please contact your local general practitioner or chiropractor for more information.

http://www.iofbonehealth.org/

Healthy Bones, Healthy Spines!

Healthy Bones Action Week (3-9 August 2015) is here, and Spine and Health is encouraging people of all ages to protect their bones.

But how does chiropractic treatment affect bone health?

It all comes down to posture and the effect it can have on your bones. Poor posture increases the strain on your bones, discs and joints. This increased strain causes wear and tear on all your tissues including your bones AND is the number one cause of osteoarthritis in your spine. As Sydney’s  posture chiropractors, we can help.

About 7 years ago Spine and Health built our own radiology centre, and x-ray all our new clients. This allows us to  see and measure the osteoarthritis caused by poor posture. It’s shocking how much osteoarthritis we find in our clients’ spines. Correcting posture can halt the worsening of this condition, and sometimes even reverse it with regular treatment and exercise programs. If left untreated, poor posture can also lead to serious problems like degenerative disc disease.

 

BONE HEALTH AND POSTURE

Apart from poor posture, there are other factors that can result in a patient suffering from bone degeneration or osteoarthritis. Some of these may be repetitive stress to a joint or abnormal joint motion, a past traumatic event on the body, or age and genetic predisposition.

Your posture has a tremendous impact on the health of your joints. Consistently sitting in the wrong positions will place abnormal chronic stresses on your body and joints. Poor posture can cause the loss of the three natural curves of the spine (found in the neck, upper back and lower back) and place additional strain on your muscles as they compensate to take pressure off the joints.

If your head isn’t sitting above the shoulders, the muscles will try to help adjust the body by working harder and will become tired. The force from the head and neck will wear down the small joints of the neck, and can trigger early development of osteoarthritis. If you already have this condition, improper posture will speed up the degenerative process and cause more pain.

 

Poor posture doesn’t just play havoc with your bone health. We regularly see clients experiencing back and neck pain, headaches, fatigue and even problems with breathing and function of major organs.

 

 

 

WHY SEE SPINE AND HEALTH’S  POSTURE CENTRE?

Our chiropractors can help diagnose and treat degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis. The only way to see if you have osteoarthritis or bone degeneration is via x-ray. We can offer you a bulk-billed x-ray in our practice at the time of your consultation.

 

At your initial appointment with a posture chiropractor, we’ll go through your past medical history and determine areas of restricted joint motion, disc injury, muscle spasm, and ligament injury. We will also look at how you walk as well as your overall posture, helping us understand your body mechanics and how your spine moves.

Our x-rays also show if you have disc or joint issues in areas of the body apart from your spine, and even a short leg (which is actually quite common).

 

TREATMENT

Our treatment is unique. Spine and Health chiropractors are qualified in postural based chiropractic. Our goal is re-aligning the spine and joints of the body.

Our techniques can help increase mobility and range of motion, and reduce any pain. By restoring posture to a normal healthy range, we can relieve the pressure and inflammation bones may be causing on the joints and muscles.

When your body is aligned it takes pressure off areas of the body that are overworked to keep your body functioning with minimal pain. Having good posture will stop the fatigue and strain on your muscles, joints and bones, and reduce the risk and symptoms of osteoarthritis and disc degeneration.

What are you waiting for? Call our Posture Chiropractors today for an initial assessment, and take care your bone health!