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Summer Osteoporosis News OUT NOW!

Dom — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:28:26 GMT

Hi all, just to let you know, the Summer issue of Osteoporosis News is winging its way to members and is available to new members now.

Highlights this issue include:

Medical News...

Rib fractures in older men should prompt osteoporosis evaluation

Rib fractures in older men are often associated with risk markers for osteoporosis, such as low bone density and a history of fracture, according to a report in the British Medical Journal. In light of these findings, Dr Elizabeth Barrett-Connor from the University of California, San Diego, and her co-authors conclude that “rib fractures should be considered to be osteoporotic fractures in the evaluation of older men for treatment to prevent future fracture”.

The researchers analysed data on 5,995 men from 6 regions in America, all at least 65 years old and belonging to the prospective Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) cohort. Every 4 months, for an average of 6 years, they completed postal surveys regarding falls and fractures.

Study examines link between bisphosphonates and femur fracture
The occurrence of an unusual type of fracture of the thigh bone is very low in patients with osteoporosis, including those treated with bisphosphonates, according to a new study from scientists at the University of California, San Francisco. Individual cases of these unusual fractures have been previously reported in association with bisphosphonates use but there has been a lack of data from research trials.

The new study is the first to take a proper look at these unusual fractures and combines data from three bisphosphonate trials involving more than 14,000 patients

Real life stories...

Sheila Hills

Around two years ago, I was out and about when I stepped off a curb and lost my balance. I started to fall backwards but was caught by a relative, which was fortunate, but I heard an almighty crack and realised I must have broken something.

Sheila says, as a result of her fall, she did a “ridiculous amount of damage,” fracturing her leg and ankle. She felt something must be wrong so, with help from relatives, found some information on the National Osteoporosis Society website and spoke to one of our Helpline nurses.

Soon after this, Shiela went for a DXA scan which confirmed she had osteoporosis. The news came as a shock, and Sheila says she had not been aware of any risk factors that may have been behind her diagnosis

Q&A: Gillian Smith

When did you first find out you had osteoporosis?

I found out I had osteoporosis about five years ago when I was 55. I have a strong family history of the disease. My mother had a ‘dowager’s hump’ for as long as I can remember, although osteoporosis was never mentioned. She always nagged me to “stand up straight, or you’ll have a back like mine”. Mom’s sisters probably had osteoporosis too. I asked the doctor for a scan because I was afraid I would follow the family trend.

What was your first reaction?

I was disappointed, but not surprised when the results showed my spine and hips were in the range of five and ten years older than they should be.

In-depth features:

Holiday Time

Summer is here again and no matter what the English weather may hold for us over the next few weeks, many people will haveeither been looking forward to getting away to sunnier climes, or enjoying a glorious break somewhere in the UK.
For people and their families who are affected by osteoporosis, making sure you’ve made the right choice of holiday is an important decision. If you’re planning on heading abroad, the first thing you may need to consider is holiday insurance.
New card scheme

If you are travelling within continental Europe you will now be required to be in possession of a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) – the card which replaced the old E111 paper in 2006. The new card allows EU nationals to obtain the same level of healthcare as a local resident in a member country when travelling. The new card scheme covers short-term trips around Europe and Switzerland, but only covers basic national healthcare as received by local residents and does not cover those living permanently outside the UK. The new card does provide the user with essential care needed for the length of stay, which means that in cases of travel with existing/chronic medical conditions non-emergency care will also be provided.

Expert answers to your questions:

Helpline Queries:

Is it true that vitamin K is important for bone health and if so, does it make a difference if I take vitamin K supplements or can I obtain enough in my diet?

Vitamin K is best known for its role in blood clotting, but it may also help maintain bone strength. It plays a role in the alteration of a protein called osteocalcin which influences bone-building. We obtain vitamin K from food (vitamin K1 or phylloquinone) but it’s also produced by bacteria in our intestines (vitamin K2 or menaquinones). As vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, any excess in the body is stored in the liver for future use. Vitamin K deficiency is extremely rare in healthy adults and seen only in those with malabsorption problems or severe liver disease.

Adults need approximately 0.001 mg per kg of body weight a day. Dietary vitamin K1 is an important source. It can be obtained from a varied and healthy diet containing plenty of green leafy vegetables, parsley, vegetable oils such as olive, soybean and rapeseed oils and cereals. Lesser amounts are present in dairy
products, meat and eggs. It is readily absorbed. The availability of
vitamin K to the body is the same for both raw and cooked
broccoli and is unaffected by the fat content of a meal.

If you are a member and you've had your copy of Osteoporosis News, please reply and let me know what you think of the current issue. I'm always looking for ways to improve the magazine and all feedback is gratefully received.

Thanks

Dom

Osteoporosis Event in Lincoln 7th July 2010 from 2 to 4pm

April — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:01:38 GMT

Hi Everybody

There is an "Osteoporosis -What you need to know" event in Lincoln at the Age Concern Activity Centre, 36, Park street, LN1 1UQ on 7th. July (wed) between 2 and 4 pm. I plan to go. Perhaps I'll see you there.

This is an awareness event to provide information to members of the public who currently know little about Osteoporosis and do not know about the work of the charity.

Calcium supplements Good or Bad?

Caff55 — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:02:21 GMT

Having researched the possible side effects of the Bisophosphonates I have already gone down the route of Strontium Citrate instead. As for it's efficacy I cannot say yet as my next Dexa scan is some time away.
I did to some extent swallow the Calcium theory and regularly call for my AdCal/D3 prescription.
However, there is a lot of research out there that high dosages of calcium do more harm than good especially when the the AdCal contains non of the other chemicals essential to bone turnover. Magnesium a good example just for starters. The worry is that excessive Calcium may not only be bad for bones but also precipitate other diseases such as aortic Calcification or in men Postate Cancer.
I leave you with one of websites that questions the usefulness of Calcium as a supplement. Who do we trust?
http://www.jonbarron.org/athletic-performance/04-01-2003.php?gclid=CL_e64-dip4CFUYA4wodJjsMog

Any books on natural remedies in the UK?

katie.m — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:47:23 GMT

Hi another new member here, not quite sure what I am doing. Could any other members please tell me if they know of any publications in the UK that help with Diet,Vitamins and Exercise? All I can find are books in the USA. I have been prescribed Alendronic Acid but having tried it because of my GRD it makes me very ill.

Regards Katie M

Fractures and Vitamin D

Annabel Lee — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 08:35:58 GMT

Very interesting post by Dr William Davis on his heart scan blog today, very pertinent to bone health: Fractures and Vitamin D

Supporting one another whilst improving our bone health

Margie — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:32:38 GMT

I am trying to improve my diet, in particular I would like to improve the alkaline content. I have been very much the meat and 2 veg eater, I have eaten a lot of wholemeal bread and have a sweet tooth. I am really struggling in my attempts to eat more veg. I have tried making it meat and 3 veg and try to eat salad but after 49 years of my comfort food it is hard to change. Does anyone have any ideas please. I have recently stopped taking Alendonic acid as I was scared about it and I know I must make improvements in my diet and lifestyle and KEEP THEM UP. The last bit is the hardest. I do excerise more and do eat better but then it all slides again. What do you do and how do you keep motivated.

Is anyone interested in a thread on here to support each other in our efforts to improve bone health through exercise and improved diet? I do exercise, I do have ideas, I am not lazy, I just feel so alone in this struggle with my bones.

I was trying to have a brisk walk everyday but have let that slide over the last week or so. I am still trying to eat more veg but am really in need of ideas.

If anyone has any recipes or ideas (non dairy) I would love to read them. If anyone wants to post excerise ideas or a log of their exercise every few days I would be very interested. I am hoping it will inspire me.

Alkaline forming foods

Annabel Lee — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:26:41 GMT

Here's a list of alkaline and acid forming foods - click here from Essence of Life

And here's an article about alkaline diet from the Better Bones website - click here There are also charts at the bottom of that page.

Winter Osteoporosis News OUT NOW!

Dom — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:26:21 GMT

Hi all, just to let you know, the winter issue of Osteoporosis News is winging its way to members and is available to new members now. As Christmas is just around the corner, we've made the current issue extra special by including a 12 page, bone-friendly festive cookery supplement, packed full of delicious recipes from our Patron Mary Berry and Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett.

Highlights this issue include:

Medical News...

Can green tea help build strong bones?

Although we are probably more used to good old tea bags in the UK, researchers in Hong Kong have reported new scientific evidence which shows green tea may help to improve bone health.

The researchers found that green tea, a drink which is becoming increasingly popular in the West and the UK, contains a group of chemicals that can stimulate bone formation and help slow its breakdown.

Vitamin D may help prevent falls

Taking vitamin D supplements, at a dose of 700–1,000 international units per day, may make falling 19 per cent less likely for people aged 65 and older, a new research review recently published in the British Medical Journal has claimed.

The review is based on eight studies of people aged sixty-five and older who took vitamin D supplements or placebos. Doses of vitamin D differed among the studies and participants lived in nursing homes or in their own homes.

Real life stories...Nikki Grahame

In most ways Nikki Grahame is like any other 27-year-old in the glare of the public eye. Pretty, bright and bubbly and devoting her time to promoting her autobiography Dying to be Thin, Nikki’s busy life heads along in a whirl of TV show appearances, openings and parties.

But in other ways, life for Nikki is very different, mainly because she’s living with osteoporosis and is constantly aware of the risk of fracturing bones.

“I was at the gym recently and really banged my hip. I was so worried that I’d done some serious damage but thankfully, I was all right,” she says. “It’s such a big worry – if I have any sort of knock or bang, I stop and think, ‘Is that
actually going to be okay?’”

Q&A: Sandra Massey

When did you first find out you had osteoporosis?

Following a scan arranged by my GP through the hospital in 1996. I had broken a hip in November 1995 when I was just 40-years-old. In 1996 I twisted on the ball of my left leg to put my key in the car door. The pain was immense. I couldn’t get up, and the ambulance took me to the local hospital where the next day it was operated on. I had 3 pins inserted. Prior to discharge a nurse advised me to ask my GP for a bone density scan – as I could have osteoporosis. I just thought I would never remember the name of the condition!”

In-depth features:

Vibration therapy

If you’ve looked at an advert for a vibration plate or seen one at your local gym, you could be forgiven for thinking that vibration therapy is a new invention. The truth is, scientists have been looking into the potential benefits of vibration for a long time, with the first machines appearing over 150 years ago.

Today, vibration therapy is used far more widely and has provoked a great deal of interest, especially because of the claims that are made of a possible benefit on bone density. But do these claims have any substance?

Expert answers to your questions:

Helpline Queries:

I am taking alendronic acid and am going abroad on holiday. What would be best to use as a substitute if the tap water is not suitable to drink?

The reason that the manufacturers of alendronic acid and alendronate (Fosamax) state in the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) that their product must be taken with tap water, is to help increase the treatment’s absorption. If the tablet is taken with a food or drink which contains a large amount of minerals such as calcium or magnesium, the drug could bind with the minerals and be excreted rather than absorbed.

Thanks

Dom

Bisphosphonates Information

Caff55 — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:19:18 GMT

Hi All,

Some interesting reading on Bisphosphonates.

http://www.healthwatchersnews.com/2010/02/bisphosphonates-bone-strengtheners-or-bone-hardeners/

New issue of Osteoporosis News

Dom — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:46:16 GMT

Hi all - just to let you know, the latest issue of Osteoporosis News has been posted out to our members. For those who aren't members of the charity, the current issue features the following:

Medical News: A report on a new study which claims monitoring bone density could be pointless; news the Novartis has received European approval for Aclasta and a round up of research presented at our recent conference.

Charity news: News and photos from the Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair Gala, a report from Members' Day, details of our campaign to send postcards to MPs asking for more Fracture Liaison Services and news about Legacy Awareness Week.

Opinion column: David Haslam, Chair of the National Obesity Forum on the importance of exercise and healthy eating among the young.

Profile: Jason Bethell, a 40 year old man who was diagnosed with osteoporosis 10 years ago after falling off his bike, shares his story.

Q&A: Forum member Anne Bedish answers our questions

Feature: Buying disability aids: we see what’s on offer at Disabled Living Centres

Feature: FRAX Explained: A Q&A with osteoporosis specialist Dr Alun Cooper looking at the online fracture risk assessment tool FRAX.

Helpline questions: Our Helpline nurses answer questions about alendronic acid and exercise.

Plus reports on the Flora London Marathon, our forthcoming Go Orange for Osteoporosis initiative, news from our work throughout the country

For those of you who receive the magazine, please let me know what you think about the current issue and if you have any suggestions for future articles.

If you don’t currently receive our magazine and would like to do so, click here to become a member.

Thanks

Dom
--------------
Dom Hall
Senior Communications Officer

A few books and websites I have found useful

Annabel Lee — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:56:38 GMT

Here are some books I have found especially useful for giving me information on osteoporosis and helping me help myself:

[b]'Osteoporosis, the silent epidemic'[/b] by Marilyn Glenville [url]http://tinyurl.com/csd6fo[/url] lots of information about different treatments.
[b]'Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis' [/b]by Alan Gaby [url]http://tinyurl.com/awon63[/url] A bit out of date regarding medications but absolutely tons of information about supplements and lifestyle.
[b]'Better Bones, Better Body'[/b] by Susan Brown [url]http://tinyurl.com/borktj[/url]
[b]'The Myth of Osteoporosis'[/b] by Gillian Sanson [url]http://tinyurl.com/bshqvh[/url] This doesn't say osteoporosis is a myth but it is a provocative title to make one understand that it's not just about DEXA scans.

These two books on exercise I have also found excellent:
[b]'Exercises for Osteoporosis'[/b] by Dianne Daniels [url]http://tinyurl.com/d9quum[/url] An easy to start with book with good illustrations
[b]'The Slow Burn' [/b]by Frederick Hahn [url]http://tinyurl.com/bpj8ap[/url] I refer to 'The Slow Burn' all the time for the weight lifting I do to help increase my bone density.

And here are some websites I've also found very useful (not counting the NOS website !) the first two packed with information about osteoporosis and the third one about vitamin D which is so important to bone health.
[url]http://courses.washington.edu/bonephys/ophome.html[/url]
[url]http://www.osteopenia3.com/index.html[/url]
[url]http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/[/url]

Anne

'Better Bones, Better Body'

Annabel Lee — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:52:57 GMT

'Better Bones, Better Body' - website with lots of interesting articles about osteoporosis: [url]http://www.betterbones.com/[/url]

SuperSlow weight lifting for osteoporosis

Annabel Lee — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:24:45 GMT

[quote]An exercise theorist by the name of Ken Hutchins developed SuperSlow for use in a research project on osteoporosis conducted by Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries and the University of Florida. Since elderly women with frail bones were the research subjects, special care had to be taken to reduce the risk of injury. If not done cautiously, lifting weights might cause fractures in the thinned bones of these women. Fractures would occur if the weakened bones encountered any force that exceeded their structural integrity. However, for reasons discussed in the previous chapter, enough weight had to be used to produce a rate of fatigue that would result in meaningful inroading. Mr. Hutchins had to find a way to use enough weight to be meaningful, yet still keep forces low enough to not cause injury to very frail subjects.

Ken and his co-researcher/wife Brenda turned to simple physics for the answer to their problem. The formula which describes force is F=M x A. Which means force equals Mass times Acceleration. Since the mass used could only be reduced so much without compromising inroading, force would have to be decreased by reducing acceleration. Acceleration is defined as the change in speed per unit of time. When you move a weight quickly, you go from a dead stop, to a given speed in a short period of time...i.e. you accelerate. When you change directions, you must stop and begin movement in the opposite direction, which again is acceleration. If you move more slowly the difference in speed from a dead stop to any point in the range of motion is less, therefore the change in speed per unit of time is less, and therefore, acceleration is decreased.

Exactly how slow to go becomes important. The average person can only move a weight so slow and be able to do it smoothly. If you lift the weight over 6-12 seconds, most people can produce smooth movement. If you try to lift it over 15-20 seconds, the weight cannot be moved smoothly. At this speed of movement, you actually have a series of stops and starts. When you stop and start like this, you simply have multiple little accelerations. So you want to use the slowest speed that produces the smoothest movement possible, because smooth movement indicates a constant speed. At a constant speed, there is no change in speed over a given unit of time, and thus acceleration is close to eliminated. With acceleration greatly reduced in the equation F=M x A, we can see that force will be greatly reduced. Furthermore, at this speed, changes in direction can occur smoothly and continuously which almost eliminates the acceleration at the point where you change direction from lifting to lowering and lowering to lifting.

You can now see one of the major reasons why I recommend Mr. Hutchin's SuperSlow protocol. It makes exercise safer. Stimulating physical improvements would not be worthwhile if you got hurt in the process.

Another reason I recommend SuperSlow is because it makes exercise harder. This was noted serendipitously in the osteoporosis study. The subjects seemed to gain strength faster than had previously been seen. The answer as to why became evident when they looked at the protocol in the context of inroading.

The process of inroading is not just dependent on correct resistance selection. For inroading to occur, the muscle must be continuously exposed to the resistance. If the muscle gets a respite from the resistance, then some of the slow twitch motor units can recover and thwart the inroading process. If you watch most people working out in a commercial gym, you will see that they are not lifting weights, they are throwing weights. We have a natural tendency to accelerate when we lift weights. The reason we accelerate is because we are trying to use momentum to make the task easier. Momentum is defined by the tendency of any object that is put into motion to remain in motion. An object is put into motion by an acceleration force. If the weight you are using to work out with is moving under its own momentum, then it is not loading the muscle. We instinctually accelerate the weight because the resultant momentum spares us of muscular loading and the consequent muscular fatigue. The less we use acceleration, the less the weight can move under its own momentum, and therefore the muscle is more continuously loaded. When the muscle is continuously loaded, inroading is increased.

Returning again to our safety discussion, we should note that we also decrease force by decreasing mass in our equation, F=M x A. The amount of weight we can use when we can't invoke acceleration and momentum to help us out is decreased. You simply can't lift as much weight as you can throw. So by using the SuperSlow protocol, you decrease force by decreasing both mass and acceleration.

So you can see why I recommend SuperSlow. It makes the exercise both harder and safer. Most importantly, it makes exercise harder and safer at the same time. While it may seem trivial at first glance, this characteristic is revolutionary in the field of exercise. In any other form of exercise, as you increase the difficulty of the exercise, you must also increase the forces involved. In order to make other forms of exercise more challenging, you have to make them more dangerous. When you start an aerobics class, you will usually begin in the low impact class. When you get in better shape and need more challenge, you graduate to the high impact class. Finally, when you are really moving up, you graduate to the step class. By the time you make it to this level, you may have to drop out because your knees, hips and back are hurting. How many times have you seen a substitute instructor in an aerobics class because the regular instructor is out with an overuse injury? If you go from walking, to jogging, to running wind sprints, the forces go up with the intensity...and disproportionately so. SuperSlow exercise will get you in great shape, and it won't get you hurt in the process.
M. Doug McGuff, M.D.[/quote]

[url]http://www.ultimate-exercise.com/pb3.html[/url]

A good book which shows this technique in practice with full descriptions and photographs is Fredrick Hahn's 'The Slow Burn' :
[url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slow-Burn-Fitness-Revolution-Exercise/dp/0767913868/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250616705&sr=1-1[/url]

A useful website

SueS — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:19:36 GMT

I've found the following website very interesting. Lots of discussion and exchange of ideas mostly from America but also India, Australia and Greece. http://www.inspire.com/groups/national-osteoporosis-foundation

Osteoporosis the silent epidemic by Marilyn Glenville

SueS — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:54:49 GMT

I wonder if anyone else has read this book. I found it very informative with useful information about acid and alkaline forming foods. It was published in 2005 so I suppose it may not include any very recent research. Sue

New hope! Maybe!

Caff55 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:37:43 GMT

Hi all,

According to the following link another treatment could be on the way:-
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/yissum-introduces-novel-compound-for-the-treatment-of-osteoporosis,853933.shtml
Of course could be ages before it's on the market and passed by NICE (what a misnomer!!)

VITAMIN D

Annabel Lee — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:37:49 GMT

Link to NOS article in which Professor Roger Francis, Chair of the National Osteoporosis Society’s Medical Board, says “Up to 15 % of people in the UK are estimated to have low levels of vitamin D, while 80% have levels which are considered unhealthy.":

[url]http://www.nos.org.uk/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=535&srcid=228[/url]

Link to video of lecture by Dr Robert Heaney on vitamin D, it's deficiency, disease linked to deficiency, supplementation and safety. This lecture was given to doctors but it is still very understandable:

[url]http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.asp?showID=15751[/url]

And this is another one which is really interesting too, though the doctor talks in American units of serum D measurement - to convert ng/mL to nmol/L, which the UK and rest of the world use, multiply by 2.5.

[url]http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.asp?showID=15773[/url]