May 2019 Osteopenia/Osteoporosis News

May is a transition month in many parts of the world. The Northern Hemisphere moves towards the heat of summer while the Southern Hemisphere toward winter. Many in the tropics are heading in or out of their rainy season. And we whohave been diagnosed with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis need to 'double down' on our daily effort to grow denser, stronger bones..

New treatments added. For the last month I have been adding research based information to Osteopenia3.com. Much of it is about what we, in the West, call 'natural treatments'. ( In many parts of the world these treatments are 'ordinary health care'.) .

If you go to the www.osteopenia3.com web site and clickon TREATMENTS you will see separate sections for pharmaceutical treatments and natural treatments. Both can be effective. I urge you to read (or reread) those pages. .

Of course consult your health care provider and if you are considering a non-pharmaceutical treatment eg. herbs, you might want to print out the relevant pages, bring them to your next visit and ask your provider if s/he will read them. .

But be advised that depending on the medical training of your health care provider, s/he may be more or less open to something other than a pharmaceutical treatment. (I once had a cardiologist give me a STRONG lecture on my'wrongheadedness' for even considering natural products - even after I spoke of scientific studies showing the effectiveness of what I was using.

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And a reminder. You are less likely to break a bone if you never round your back when you bend AND you never fall. .

Every few months I go back to practicing standing on one foot for as long as I can. And I time it. This morning I could stand on my left leg a long time. (I always aim for at least 2 minutes.)

My right leg is a different story. I can barely get 10 seconds...but then, that is the leg affected by polio in my youth. It is also the leg that has led to a broken wrist and a shattered elbow from falls. Yes, it behooves me to keep practicing balancing on that leg..

You, too, may find that one leg allows you to keep your balance better than another. The weaker one is the one that needs more practice. And if it does not respond to increased practice you might consider a walking stick. (No, nota cane - unless your health care provider recommends that you use one.) .

I bought a wonderful walking stick in a shop for hikers. It is almost shoulder high and I grip it about 8 inches from the top. It offers great stability as I walk...even in crowds when I get distracted and my leg may go across my midline (which would normally lead to a fall). And what is lovely is that no one marks me as 'disabled'. Instead theytend to think of me as an adventurer (which in some sense I am)..

I wish you well and suggest that you might want to read some of the new pages under 'Natural Treatments' on the osteopenia3.com site. As always, thank you for reading.AND if you ever find that you are NOT READING these newsletters, please be sure to unsubscribe (See below) so I am not paying for unread issues. Thanks.