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Monday, March 03, 2008

I have osteoporosis and a Dowager's Hump - please help!

"Read your article on "bone drugs." My maternal ancestors had dowager humps. Paternal didn't live long enough to know. I have used sunshine, nutrition, exercise and diet as you prescribe for many, many years. Yet bone density scans showed 2% bone loss year after year. I suffered a simple fracture of the wrist and later a simple fracture of the elbow following falls. I get regular chiropractic adjustments. What am I to do?"

Mary
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Gary Moller comments:
Mary, I appreciate your concerns. However; be sceptical of the results of bone scans which are of questionable accuracy and may not be good predictors of fracture risk. Please refer to Gillian Sanson's book "The Myth of Osteoporosis". I am not sure how chiropractic treatment will assist.

While there may be a genetic factor in your family, I would not focus on this. Many things follow in families because of shared habits, attitudes and common diets. So, if Mum slumps then so might the daughters. The chances are you ate the same food that Mum and Dad ate during your growing years possibly causing similar health issues for all as age catches up. Got the idea!

The Dowager's Hump that you refer to may be due to slumping posture which you can do much about by doing exercises to improve your standing tall and proud. It may also be a sign that your body is acidic causing a build up of fluid below the skin. This can be most pronounced about the nape of the neck and shoulders, giving the appearance of a thick hump. The fluid buildup is caused by the body trying to dilute the acidic poisons that are accumulating in the body. If the body is acidic then it will desperately try to neutralise this by leaching alkaline minerals from the bones and organs. This may result in progressive bone loss over the years as well as fatigue, depression and weight gain. Please read my postings about body PH. 

In addition to what you are doing, you should be lifting about a 2kg weight several times from the ground to above your head each day.

The other daily exercise is to practice balancing on each foot while taking care not to lose balance and fall. For fun balance and agility, why not take up dancing? Tai Chi is recommended. Your risk of fracture may not be so much to do with weak bones; but lack of strength overall and poor balance. Work on these and your risk of fracture from falls will lessen.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I attend Yoga and Pilates classes at least twice a week. It helps my joints feel more flexible, build muscle (esp. pilates) and overall better health. My instructor and classmates have said that these classes are shown to reduce your risk of losing height as you age. This could be because it helps posture as Gary mentioned.