With the number of people suffering bone fractures increasing rapidly every year, the Taiwanese Osteoporosis Association urged people to check their calcium intake and exercise regularly.
Statistics from the National Health Insurance Administration showed that more than 675,000 people had bone fractures in 2014, with more than 300,000 of those being people younger than 50.
The number of bone fracture patients has increased by about 10 percent in five years, the association said.
Although the causes of bone fractures are complicated, osteoporosis is a common cause, said association director Wu Chih-hsing (吳至行), a physician at National Cheng Kung University Hospital’s Department of Family Medicine.
Wu said that in addition to ensuring sufficient calcium intake, improving one’s balance, flexibility and muscular strength can help prevent bone fractures caused by osteoporosis.
Wu cited as an example the case of a female office worker in her 40s who sits at her desk for hours every day and seldom exercised outdoor. One day, she sprained her ankle while climbing the stairs. She was diagnosed to have a bone fracture caused by osteoporosis, with a bone mass T-score of minus-2.8, Wu said.
A T-score of minus-2.5 or lower is considered osteoporosis.
Wu said osteoporosis does not only occur in older people, but most people only start to become aware of it after they had a bone fracture, adding that bone fractures can lead to other complications.
While calcium intake, exercise and sunlight exposure are important in preventing osteoporosis, Wu suggested that older people improve their flexibility by stretching; do yoga, taichi or exercises on a horizontal bar; improve their balance; and build muscle strength by walking or squatting to lower the chance of falling and fracturing a bone.
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