According to Chase's Calendar of Events, my go-to book whenever I'm stuck for a blog topic, May seems to be the month for reminding everyone to pay attention to physical and mental health. Just a few of the conditions being featured by a national observance month this May are: better hearing and speech, family wellness, fibromyalgia, skin cancer, allergy/asthma, arthritis, hepatitis, mental health, stroke and osteoporosis. Every single one of these conditions deserves our attention and support. Personal experience led me to discuss osteoporosis in my blog this time.

My father was not the first member of the family to develop osteoporosis, but it was unusual enough to catch my attention. I thought only women developed osteoporosis. Not true. It's not as common in men as in women, but it does happen. I thought it was just a minor inconvenience. Not true. It is possible to break bones by coughing or even turning your upper body too quickly. I thought that osteoporosis occurred only because you didn't drink enough milk as a child. Not true. There are many causes for osteoporosis, and the tendency to develop it can run in families. If you have or had an elderly female relative with a dowager's hump, (in my family that was my grandmother on my father's side) you were probably told that this was the penalty for not standing up straight. Not true. The hump was the result of undiagnosed osteoporosis.

A chance mention of these things to my doctor led to my first bone density scan, fast, painless, and vital to determining how far along the path to osteoporosis I was. Osteoporosis shows no symptoms until it's very advanced, but it is possible to detect this condition at a much younger age than before and initiate treatment. For this reason it is important to review your family history and your life style and become as knowledgeable as possible about osteoporosis. If your doctor doesn't suggest a bone density scan and you feel there is a possibility that you might need one, ask about it. Untreated osteoporosis can change your life, and not for the better.

If you need information, try these websites: The National Institute on Aging where a search for osteoporosis will give you an article which can be ordered in print or read on line, Osteoporosis : the bone thief. Another good site is Medline plus where a search for osteoporosis will link to informative articles on the subject.

If you would like to do some reading on the topic, there are several books at the library which would provide valuable information.
Strong women, strong bones by Miriam E. Nelson
I'm not slowing down: winning my battle with osteoporosis by Ann Richards
Mayo Clinic on osteoporosis edited by Stephen Hodgson
Better bones, better body : beyond estrogen and calcium by Susan E. Brown
Yoga builds bones: easy, gentle stretches that prevent osteoporosis by Jan Maddern