Make no bones about it
YOU wouldn’t think coughing or sneezing could break a bone. But if you’re one of the 3.5 million people in the UK and Ireland living with the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, it could.
To mark World Osteoporosis Day (October 20), there’s no better time to think about your bone health – and how a few lifestyle tweaks could help you avoid the condition.
Osteoporosis mostly affects women over 50 – due to oestrogen levels dropping rapidly after menopause – but bone health is still an important consideration for everyone, at every age.
“Osteoporosis causes 500,000 broken bones every year in the UK, and has a devastating personal and financial impact on people’s lives,” explains Lauren Wiggins, director of clinical services at the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS; theros. org.uk). “It’s often referred to as a ‘silent disease’ because of underdiagnoses, under-treatment and low public awareness.
“But the actions we take throughout our lives can have a direct impact on our bone health as we get older,” adds Lauren. “By taking positive action to improve bone health now, we can work towards avoiding the debilitating consequences of the condition.”
As well as age and sex, the condition can also be linked to genetic factors, taking certain medications such as corticosteroids, and certain illnesses like anorexia. Low bodyweight, smoking and excessive alcohol intake are also risk factors.
The ROS knows it’s all too easy to take our bones for granted – until they break. Here’s why it’s urging everyone to look after their bones, and how to do it... even possible to continue independently.
“Tasks like cleaning, cooking, shopping and getting around are impacted, alongside looking after pets, children and grandchildren.”
While many osteoporosis fractures happen after a fall, spinal fractures can occur without an obvious accident or injury and may be painless.
The ROS explains that fractured bones in the back can squash down and become flattened or wedgeshaped – and will stay in this shape after they’ve healed, changing the shape of the spine.
Lauren explains: “Some people experience severe pain when there’s a spinal fracture, but for others it might be painless, or persistent pain might only start as the shape of the spine changes.
“If you experience a number of spinal fractures, this can lead to height loss because of curvature of the spine.
“Coping with the physical changes to your body shape and body image can be distressing and lead to a loss of confi
dence.” rosis report that their or their partner’s work is impacted by the condition, causing them to reduce their hours or retire early,” says Lauren.
“Hobbies and people’s social lives are often impacted, with some people reducing or stopping these activities, causing them to feel isolated.”
The ROS warns the risk of osteoporosis and broken bones increases if you’re underweight or overweight, so it’s generally a good idea to aim to keep your body weight within a healthy range.
Bones stay strong if you give them work to do, says the ROS, explaining that a combination of weightbearing exercise with impact, and muscle-strengthening exercises are the best ways to keep bones strong.
The former involves being on your feet and adding an additional force or jolt through your skeleton – anything from walking to star jumps.
“Variety is good for bones, which you can achieve with different movements, directions and speeds
Exercise helps reduce the risk
– like when you’re dancing,” says Lauren.
“Short bursts of activity can be best, such as running followed by a jog, or jogging followed by a walk.”
The ROS warns that low levels of vitamin D can increase the risk of osteoporosis and broken bones, as vitamin D helps the body absorb and use calcium – essential for bones. of activity – such as running a jog – is a good way to keep at bay
The vitamin is created in the body if skin is exposed to enough sunlight. But in the UK, between October and April, there’s generally not enough adequate sunlight for our bodies to do this, which is why it’s recommended people take a daily supplement of 10micrograms of vitamin D during these months.
There are many other nutrients that are also vital in helping bones stay healthy and strong. The ROS recommends people eat a healthy, balanced diet including foods from the four main food groups of fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates like bread, potatoes, pasta and cereals, dairy and dairy alternatives, and proteins like beans, eggs, fish and meat. “Eating and drinking the right things can help support your bone health at every stage of your life,” Lauren points out.
all bad, but take care doesn’t descend
If you thought doctors would never be crazy enough to blow smoke up your bottom if your heart stopped, or pluck a chicken’s bum and stick it in your armpit to cure the plague, then think again.
As Adam Kay’s hilarious new children’s book shows, humans have taken a long time to get their heads around how bodies work and how to fix them.
Kay’s Marvellous Medicine - a follow-up to his 2020 children’s debut, Kay’s Anatomy – takes a look at weird treatments through the ages.
It is a ridiculously funny read that will delight, gross out and educate all at the same time.
weren’t very many stories with black kids in them. So when this opportunity came, I just decided there was going to be a black protagonist and he was going to have friends of colour, and someone was going to be in a wheelchair – it was going to be an inclusive story, so kids could go ‘Wow, I’m in this!”’.
But how did this famous 63-yearold comedian, who co-founded Comic Relief and is now also an accomplished actor – he’s spent much of the last two years filming Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV series in New Zealand, and is currently filming the prequel to The Witcher – know what kids more than 50 years younger than him want to read?
“I didn’t know that kids would be able to relate to what I was writing, but I did think about what I liked when I was nine to 12 – Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, Billy the Cat, the Mighty Thor, The Avengers,” he says. His book even has a comic strip at the end, drawn by the renowned Marvel and DC comics artist Mark Buckingham, because, like many of the kids of his generation, Lenny also loved reading adventure comics.
Like many children’s books, the Boy with Wings subtly carries a handful of important life lessons that children would do well to absorb, including that bullying is wrong and the importance of kindness. But Henry certainly didn’t want to ram any moral codes down kids’ throats, stressing that escapism and adventure are the important things about his book.
“You have to try and grip the kid as quickly as possible with the story, and if there are any messages in there like ‘be kind to people’ and ‘don’t bully people’, they should be submerged – you don’t want to be doing that in the middle of an adventure story,” he stresses.
Henry has already started penning his second children’s book, after getting a “fantastic” early reaction to The Boy with Wings and its “adventuresomeness”. So will the hero in his next book be a black child too?
“That’s a good question, no-one’s ever asked me that before – they never asked Charles Dickens or Stephen King whether their heroes were black or white, did they?” he says, wryly. “I suppose black authors are compelled to continually explain themselves about who or what they choose to write about.
“The next story is about two mixedrace twins, but I think a person of colour will always be front and centre in my books, because that’s who I am, and when I was a kid I wanted to read about people like me.
“But the books are for everybody, not just for black kids – they’re for all kids.”
■ The Boy With Wings by Lenny Henry is published by Macmillan, £12.99.