Tuesday 1 March 2016

Osteoporosis prevention



Government guidelines for osteoporosis prevention state that in addition to traditional weight-bearing exercise, patients should also engage in "exercise that involves pulling forces acting on entheses (tendon insertions) of long bones, even in the very elderly. Weight bearing and resistive exercises are better for bone strength than .. exercises such as swimming and cycling."
"It should also be noted that the benefits are only maintained as long as the patients take exercise."
Note that these recommendations apply to the upper as well as the lower limbs.
I'm only 55 so I have no excuse, but very few Addison's patients seem to do much in the way of physical therapy, presumably because their doctors fail to stress its importance.




One rule of social media is that if something is not reported at all on social media it either doesn't happen or is very rare. I have read literally hundreds of posts from many forums and other sources about where Addison's patients have discussed doses and dose reduction to avoid steroid side effects, yet I can't recall a single post (apart from my own) where any arm exercise to prevent osteoporosis has been discussed.

Patients frequently report on social media that their doctor has pushed steroid dose reduction,with its consequent loss of energy and life enjoyment. Patients do report that their doctors give them drugs when their bones do get brittle.
Patients don't report that their doctor has made them aware of the recommended clinical guidelines shown above.