World Osteoporosis Day丨“Brittle bones” are not just a problem for the elderly. How to prevent and treat osteoporosis?

Did you break your bones just by moving a flower pot or sneezing? Did you break your bones by accidentally falling and sitting on the ground? Did you break your bones by supporting yourself with your hands? Many elderly people may have had such experiences: falling slowly or exerting a little force, resulting in fractures of the spine, hips, and wrists. The "culprit" of such fractures after falling is osteoporosis.

Many studies have shown that the lifestyle of infants, young children and young people is closely related to osteoporosis. Therefore, people of all ages should pay attention to the problem of osteoporosis. On the occasion of World Osteoporosis Day, we will help you prevent and treat "brittle bones".

Bad living habits are the "catalyst" of osteoporosis

1. Excessive smoking and drinking

Excessive smoking and drinking will affect osteoclasts, hormone levels, and thyroid levels, thereby affecting bone metabolism, inhibiting bone formation, and promoting bone absorption.

If the weekly alcohol intake exceeds 40g (about 3 bottles of beer or 3 taels of liquor), it will reduce the bone synthesis rate, increase the proportion of fat in the bone marrow, affect the absorption of vitamins by liver cells, and slow down bone formation.

2. Single diet structure

Maintaining a single diet for a long time will more easily lead to an imbalance in the intake of vitamins and proteins, resulting in insufficient bone-building materials, which can easily cause osteoporosis.

3. Not fond of exercise

Use it or lose it. Lack of exercise may cause muscle atrophy. Similarly, bones may also atrophy. Therefore, we need to use appropriate and reasonable exercise to allow muscles to stimulate the stress increase of bones.

In addition, some diseases require the use of hormonal drugs, or women enter menopause too early, which will interfere with the body's bone metabolism and increase the risk of osteoporosis.

How to prevent and treat osteoporosis?

How can we prevent and treat osteoporosis in our daily life? Simply put, we should limit smoking and drinking, eat a variety of foods, exercise moderately, and monitor bone density.

1. Balanced diet + plenty of exercise

To prevent and treat osteoporosis, you need to maintain a balanced diet and moderate exercise for a long time.

In daily life, we should reduce smoking and drinking; eat all kinds of food such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, lean meat, grains, etc. in a delicate, small amount and extensive manner; we should exercise safely and moderately to allow muscle activity to stimulate bone tissue, and it would be even better if we could bask in the sun while exercising.

2. TCM tips

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "kidneys store essence and govern bones". Many people with osteoporosis suffer from sore waist and knees, cold body and limbs, irregular menstruation, premature menopause, impotence and premature ejaculation, and long and clear urination. These symptoms are actually related to insufficient kidney essence. Warming kidney yang, nourishing kidney yin, and strengthening spleen and qi are the main ideas of traditional Chinese medicine for treating osteoporosis.

On the one hand, we can use diet therapy to nourish the kidneys and replenish essence, strengthen the spleen and replenish qi. For example, 15g of wolfberry and longan can be made into a simple yin and yang tonic tea; black beans, leeks, loaches, oysters and other ingredients, combined with Chinese medicines that can strengthen the spleen, such as Amomum villosum, Euryale ferox, and yam, can also be used to make soups and porridge, which are also good tonic medicinal foods.

However, you must not choose to eat a certain type of food in a hurry, eat a lot, or insist on eating it. "Overdoing it" will easily lead to an imbalance of yin and yang in the human body, or cause the body to be too weak to be supplemented. This will increase the burden on the spleen and stomach and affect indicators such as blood sugar, uric acid, and blood pressure.

On the other hand, we can also combine it with exercises that strengthen the muscles and bones, for example, choose three or five movements that suit your physical condition from Ba Duan Jin or Wu Qin Xi and practice them regularly; take a walk and bask in the sun when the weather is good; gently pat or rub the kidney area on the waist with your palms to protect the kidney qi and dredge the kidney meridian.

Finally, "prevention first, regular testing, early intervention, and daily care" are the keys to preventing brittle fractures. I hope everyone can raise awareness of preventing and treating osteoporosis and establish a healthy lifestyle.

Scientific review: Han Liang, deputy chief physician of orthopedics, Oriental Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine

Editor: Xie Yun and Wu Yuetong

Proofreader: Han Chengguo (internship)