Your Monthly Guide to Bone Health by Greta Leonard RN, CDT

Keeping your bones healthy is a lifetime commitment.  It starts as a child.  Children’s bones grow quickly and reach their full length during the teenage years.  During this time of rapid growth, you can build strong bones by getting exercise and eating calcium-rich foods.

As a young adult, your bones thicken.  They reach their peak bone mass between the ages of 25 and 35.  Bones are strongest when at their peak bone mass.  You can help maximize your peak bone mass by being physically active and getting enough calcium and vitamin D.

After age 35 years of age, bone mass slowly declines.  Gradually, your body starts to lose more bone than it makes.  To help minimize bone loss, be sure to exercise and get adequate calcium and vitamin D.

Women at menopause age (when your monthly periods end), will experience a drop in estrogen.  As a result, you lose bone much faster during the early postmenopausal years.  Although exercise, calcium, and vitamin D are important, they can’t totally stop bone loss during menopause.  As a result, your bones may become thinner and weaker. Talk to your doctor about what you can do to prevent bone loss.

Later in life, your body may still be losing bone faster than it can be replaced.  Once too much bone is lost, you may develop osteoporosis and be at risk for a fracture.  Although exercise, calcium, and vitamin D are important, they can’t totally stop bone loss.  Again this is the time to talk to your doctor.

How much Calcium and Vitamin D do you need?

What risk factors should you be aware of?

More information to follow.

Greta is the coordinator for the Idaho Osteoporosis Center, affiliated with Saltzer Medical Group.
Located at Mercy North
Hours Mon-Fri 8:30-4:00 (MST)
To schedule a Bone Mineral Density test (BMD) call (208) 288-4930

ABOUT US

Dr. Page and his staff have been providing outpatient gastrointestinal endoscopy services at Saltzer Medical Group for 20 years.  They have successfully performed over 12,000 procedures and continue to do approximately 1,500 exams per year.

Endoscopy exams are done in a specialized suite, equipped with up-to-date equipment and all appropriate monitoring to ensure patient safety.  Patients are routinely administered IV medication for sedation.
Dr. Page and his staff go out of their way to make sure you are comfortable and understand the procedure completely before beginning the exam. (more…)

As sponsors of the Melba 4th of July parade we were privleged to have the opportunity to judge the parade. We had the opportunity to look at many floats, cars, horses, motorcycles and many other wonderful entries. It was fun to see how much pride everyone took in decorating their entry and in being part of this wonderful event. The final award was the sponsor trophy that we awarded to an entry we felt best portrayed both the theme and the community. The winner of this award was Sherry Penny and her step-daughter Amanda Madsen. Congratulations to you both!

Sponsor Trophy Award Winner