November 24, 2015
Fracture risk. It’s a risk no one wants to take. Those of us older St Peters folks are more susceptible to the risk just by being older. It’s not fair. It’s not fun. Fracture risk is serious and can be minimized for some by taking a few extra steps to build our spinal bones and bodies. New research comes out daily pointing to some prevention strategies we all might want to consider trying. Old Mill Chiropractic encourages our St Peters chiropractic patients and their families to minimize the risk of fracture as best they can.

One of the newest findings is that combining calcium with vitamin D reduces fracture risk for middle aged and older adults. (1) Great finding! Why? Because it comes from a meta-analysis, a review of many randomized controlled trials that show similar results. When many studies point to the same outcome, that’s power and gets the attention of your St Peters chiropractor.

Now, some reality checks Old Mill Chiropractic wants to share. The 10 year risk tripled for hip fracture and doubled for osteoporotic fractures in women between 80 and 90 years of age whose vitamin D levels were low over a 5 year period.  (2) Another study of 752 women reveals that the longer a woman breastfed, the higher her risk for vertebral osteoporotic fractures. Breastfeeding for more than 18 months doubled the risk of vertebral fractures. Now these researchers clearly state that breastfeeding offers many benefits, so they suggest that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers must be sure their intake of calcium and vitamin D is adequate. (3) Old Mill Chiropractic appreciates the balance that such researchers offer when discussing their findings and the real-life ramifications of those findings.

Therefore, while we’re on the subject of fracture risk reduction, making sure you are getting enough calcium and vitamin D is important. Adding some weight bearing exercise helps, too, especially through puberty when bone mass is building. (4). So calcium and vitamin D and exercise may be the winning combination for St Peters young women wanting to reduce their risk of fracture when they are older!

So Old Mill Chiropractic invites women of all ages (and men!) who have any concern about bone health and fracture risk reduction strategies. Working with St Peters chiropractic clients to keep them from experiencing fractures and to enhance their health is important to Old Mill Chiropractic. Your St Peters back pain specialist looks forward to seeing you! Contact Old Mill Chiropractic today.