Mr. Hooah! does not have osteoporosis, and the pathology on his bone came back clean. With the absence of a complicating or confounding diagnosis, he is expected to recover just fine. His recovery is so well expected that he does not have to be reviewed by a medical board. This is all good news. My research and reading has convinced me, however, that men’s bone health is greatly understated. Bone health and research is mostly aimed at women. Women are, by far and large, the ones who are the most affected by bone health issues such as osteoporosis. Men, and in particular female and male soldiers in TRADOC may be at a higher risk due to the amount of stress put on their bodies while they fulfill the physical requirements of training. From the articles I came across it seems that the majority of stress fractures happen within this time in career of a soldier.
Some articles pointed to technique and form — mostly related to running. I did not find much on ruck marches and what affects running in combat boots and gear would have on a soldier’s bones. I found a summary of some research that was funded by the DoD back in 1999, but I did not find the follow up information. I am sure it is out there, but I have not had much luck locating it yet. What I did find was one article that seemed to sum up the information that I found on bone health in general. My first gift to Mr. Hooah! was a huge bottle of calcium supplements. Even if he does not have a bone disease that causes thinning and breakage, he could develop it later in life. Men need calcium supplements too! Unless they have a diet that is very well saturated with calcium rich foods (and you can only absorb about 500mg at a time, so it has to be meted out through the diet), then he probably needs a supplement. Of course if you are concerned then you really need to talk to your doctor. I am a social worker and I do not have medical training so talk to your physician. That’s my disclaimer, and now onto the highlights of the article I found:
Bone health for everyone:
Women and men at any age
By Kim Verity
(excerpted and snipped where indicated)
LINK to entire article
May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month, sponsored by the National Osteoporosis foundation. Often called a “silent disease,” osteoporosis is a bone-thinning disease that weakens bones and causes them to break.
According to the foundation, 10 million Americans have the disease and another 18 million have low bone mass, placing them at an increased risk of developing osteoporosis.
Men are not immune to this bone-thinning disease, but due to their larger bone mass, the disease usually hits them later in life. At the age of 75, men are equally likely to develop osteoporosis. Unfortunately, younger women in their 30s are also being diagnosed with early stages of the disease.
(snip)
… You are never too young nor too old to improve your bone health. Thinking about building strong bones begins as early as age 9.
Children 9-18 can build up their bone bank by eating 1,300 mg of calcium daily (easily met by three servings of dairy foods, such as low-fat milk) and participating in regular weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging or team sports.
So, you may already know that adult men and women need 1,000 mg to 1,200 mg of calcium a day to maintain strong bones. Calcium is a principal component of bone. Unfortunately, most Americans do not meet the recommended guidelines (snip)…
The best source of calcium is dairy foods. The lactose sugar found in these foods actually helps the body to absorb and utilize the calcium. To meet your calcium goal, aim for three servings of low-fat dairy a day. (snip) …
It’s always best to meet your calcium requirement through foods, but if you are not able to do so, a calcium supplement may be advised. Our bodies can only absorb about 500 mg at a time, so it’s best to take smaller doses with each meal. If your calcium intake is too low, your body will take calcium from your bone to make up the difference. This is one of the major causes of bone loss.
Vitamin D intake can increase the amount of dietary calcium that is absorbed and used by the body. It is now recognized that vitamin D deficiency is an unrecognized epidemic throughout the United States.
Federal guidelines recommend 600 I.U. of vitamin D after age 50, but experts argue that the requirement should be increased to 800 I.U. daily. As we age, our body’s ability to produce vitamin D in the skin from sunshine decreases. We also tend to get less sun exposure and wear more sunscreen, which blocks vitamin D production.
When we talk about bone health, calcium and vitamin D get all the attention, but there are many other important vitamins and minerals essential for healthy bones. This bone-making and maintenance team includes vitamins A, C and K, magnesium, potassium and zinc. These vitamins and minerals either contribute directly to bone formation or help bones retain and utilize calcium.
(snip)
Regular weight-bearing exercise such as walking will help keep your bones strong. But you also need strength training to increase the activity of the bone-building cells. The old saying “Use it or lose it” also applies to your bones.
If you are not physically active, your bones weaken. But if you do regular weight-bearing and resistance exercises, you can actually build new bone. The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports medicine recommends weight-bearing exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, three or four times a week. This includes walking, jogging, climbing stairs, hiking, dancing and even doing housework. You can split up your exercise throughout the day; it does not need to be done all at once to benefit your bones.
In addition, it’s recommended that you include resistance exercises such as working with free weights or on weight machines two to three times a week. Your bones and muscles need at least one day to rest in between resistance workouts.
So, what dietary factors contribute to bone loss? A bottle of cola may be bad news for your bones. A recently published study (October 2006) in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that just one cola a day (either diet or regular) decreased bone density in women by 5 percent. The researchers also found that the more cola women in their study drank, the lower their bone density was.
It’s still not clear why colas can weaken bones. Some researchers suspect that it’s the phosphoric acid found in colas that may be contributing to bone loss. Coffee, both decaf and regular, also contains high amounts of phosphoric acid. It makes sense to limit the amount of cola and coffee you do drink, especially for those 9-18 who are in the process of building their peak bone mass.
The Framingham Osteoporosis Study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (July 2002) found that diets high in sweets (candy) were associated with lower bone density in both men and women. High-sodium diets were also linked to bone loss. The average American consumes 6,500 mg of sodium a day while the recommended levels are less than 2,400 mg.
Five tips for healthy bones
1. Get the recommended daily requirements of calcium and vitamin D.
2. Eat fruits and vegetables every day. Strive for at least five total servings a day. Even if you simply increase your current intake by one more serving, studies show that your health will benefit. So, pack an extra apple or banana in your lunch today.
3. Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol and limit beverages high in phosphoric acid (colas and coffee) to one or two a day. Also, limit your intake of sugar and salt.
4. Engage in regular weight-bearing exercise and add resistance training to your exercise routine.
5. Know your risk of developing osteoporosis. To get a free personal risk assessment and more information about osteoporosis, check out the National Osteoporosis Foundation’s Web site at www.nof.org.
