Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis

While you may already have osteoporosis there are things you can still do to promote bone health. By continuing to take care of your bones you may be able to avoid starting medications for osteoporosis. Here are some simple things that you can do to help your bones:

• Stop smoking. Smoking weakens your bones and stopping now can prevent continued damage.
• Doing weight-bearing exercise 3-4 times each week for at least 20 minutes helps to strengthen your bones. Weight-bearing exercise means doing things like walking, jogging, or low-intensity weight-training.
• Make sure you have adequate calcium and vitamin D in your diet.
• Eliminate fall risks and do activities to improve your balance. To eliminate fall risks you can remove area rugs and other things on the floor that you may trip over. Avoiding medications that make you dizzy can also help decrease your risk of falls. For example, over the counter sleep aids.
• Avoid drinking excessive alcohol, which means less than 3 alcoholic beverages daily.
• Make sure to talk to your doctor about bone density screening. If you know about your bones before there is a problem you may be able to do some of the simple things listed above and help your bones to avoid taking medications for osteoporosis.