Keep Your Bones Strong

A healthy skeletal system is important for several reasons. Bones have several functions in the body. These include the protection of organs, structural integrity and calcium storage. Bones also serve as anchors for muscles. 

As one grows older, the ability to build bone is decreased. Staying healthy and starting early are ways to keep your bones in good shape. Bone health is affected by the following factors:

• Race, body frame and family history.
   
• Hormone levels, including thyroid hormone.
   
• Physical activity levels.
   
• The amount of calcium in your diet. Low calcium contributes to early bone loss, diminished bone density, and increased risk of fractures. 
   
• Gender - Women tend to have less bone mass compared to men. 
   
• Men with low testosterone levels can experience a decrease in bone mass. 
   
• Excessive alcohol consumption and tobacco use.
   
• Eating disorders and other diseases. People who have bulimia or anorexia are at risk for bone loss. 
   
• Age: As you age, your bones become thinner and weaker. 
   
• Use of certain medications are damaging to the bones. 

The Healthy Bone Formula

To keep your bones healthy, start as soon as possible. Here are some guidelines to help keep your bones healthy.
 

• Eat high-calcium foods. Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt are good sources of calcium. 
   
• Consume plenty of vitamin D. 
   
• Avoid excess protein and sodium. 
   
• Avoid smoking and limit alcoholic intake. 
   
• Bone-boosting medications may be an option, after consulting with your physician. 
   
• Women may consider hormone therapy. Estrogen, especially when started soon after menopause, can help maintain bone density, and this should be discussed with a physician. 
   
• Exercise daily. 
   
• When exercising, change your routine often to surprise your body and challenge your bones. 
   
• Play sports and spend time outdoors. Challenge your body with movements that provide the impact necessary for bone stimulation. 

Physiotherapy and Bone Health

Orthopaedics is a branch of medicine that mainly focuses on the muscular and skeletal systems. Physiotherapy in this field deals with diagnosing, managing and treating injuries in the muscular and skeletal system and the associated rehabilitation.

A physiotherapist specializes in the treatment of bone-related conditions (fractures) and joint injuries, among other conditions.

Strength training, joint mobilizations, hot or cold packs, and electrical stimulation are some techniques used by physiotherapists. Other methods include:

• Stretching and strengthening exercise protocols to encourage muscle balance during recovery.
   
• Hot and cold therapy to increase blood circulation and assist with healing. 
   
• Ultrasound machines: The use of high or low frequency sound waves to facilitate healing. 

With a unique training background and the right set of skills to help you strengthen your bones and joints, a physiotherapist is best suited to help you recover from injuries and strengthen your bones at the same time.

Call us today - taking the time to strengthen your bones is one of the best decisions you'll ever make to improve your health, and we'll help you every step of the way.

Q&A on Running with Éric Boucher

What is the most important thing when beginning to run? 
The most important thing is to start running gradually. It’s important to not rely only on your cardiovascular abilities, but to also quantify the mechanical stress on your lower extremities. If your body is not already adapted to this stress (impact) and you progress too quickly, the risk of injury increases.

How long before a substantial run should I begin training?  
This all depends on your cardiovascular abilities and lower limb tissue adaptation regarding the repeated impact against the ground. So, depending on the adaptation of the lower limbs, it can take you 3 to 8 weeks before being able to run 30 minutes non-stop without the risk of injury. Furthermore, it’s important to know the distance you are going to run in a substantial race. This is, why with a gradual progression of a maximum of 10% of the total volume of running per week, it may take you 20 to 24 weeks of training before a marathon (if you had not started running beforehand).

What should I eat the day before a race?  
It’s good to eat plenty of carbohydrates the day before the event. However, since you are likely to experience stress on the eve of a run, you should not overeat so as to digest well. Also, this is a bad time to try new foods you are not used to digesting and it’s best to avoid alcohol the day before the event to avoid dehydration.

How much water should I drink on the day of the run? 
You must start drinking the week prior to the run to already be well hydrated the day of the event. On the day of the race, you must drink sufficiently and regularly, especially if the run will last more than an hour. However, beware of hyponatremia (over hydration). Research has shown that most marathon runners are more likely to suffer from hyponatremia than from dehydration! In conclusion, the level of hydration depends on the individual (people who sweat a lot, or who are very thin or very tall, etc. will all hydrate differently), so it’s important to know yourself well before the big event!

Éric Boucher is a physiotherapist and co-owner of the Vaudreuil-Dorion and the Valleyfield Action Sport Physio clinics.

Concussion Prevention in Children

If your child participates in sports, there may be a cause for concern as it pertains to head injuries and concussions. Concussions can happen at any time, especially if your child is involved in a high impact sport like ice hockey. A groundbreaking study on Canadian junior ice hockey published in the November 2010 edition of Neurosurgical Focus uncovers alarming head injury/concussion data and trends that raise many questions about the safety and well-being of teenagers and young adults who participate in this popular sport.

So what is a concussion?

Basically, a concussion occurs when trauma to the head and neck causes a vigorous, unnatural impact to the brain. In most cases, the side-effects of a concussion are short-lived and appear as a headache. However, in some situations, a concussion may result in impaired brain function.

So how do you prevent a concussion?

Besides wearing a helmet, it's crucial for children to learn neck-strengthening exercises. The strength and stability of the muscles of the neck and trunk will help minimize the impact of injuries and the likelihood of concussions in high impact sports like football and hockey.

For children (and young adults) participating in sports, an evaluation from a physiotherapist can help determine potential areas of weakness and instability. Information from the evaluation will help your physiotherapist design a neck-strengthening program that can help avoid serious injury and possible concussions due to weak neck muscles.

Is prevention really possible?

It's almost impossible to prevent concussions, but it is possible to reduce their risk. One of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce the risk of a concussion is to wear a protective helmet. Even if a sport does not require the use of a helmet, we strongly suggest that you encourage your child to use one anyway.

The earlier you can instill this habit, the better. Teach them that a helmet is not an option but a necessity. If children begin wearing helmets at an early age, they will be more likely to use them as they grow older instead of thinking that a helmet is not 'cool' enough.

The first rule for your child's safety should be: "If you want to play, you need to wear a helmet."

Physiotherapy for concussions

What is the damage caused by a concussion?

Concussions can be detected years after they occur in MRI scans as "white spots". The meaning of these spots is often debated, along with the long-term impact of a concussion.

Regardless of the severity of concussions, you want to minimize them as much as possible. Concussions have been known to cause temporary visual impairment, speech impairment, balance issues, memory loss and other problems. How long these effects last depends upon the severity of the concussion and the time between when the concussion occurred and when it was treated.

Physiotherapy can help

Your physiotherapist can work closely with other health professionals responsible for your child's safety. The therapist can help your child by creating a structured, personalized neck strengthening and core strengthening program. This will minimize the risk of concussions. If your child works closely with a coach, a trainer and a physiotherapist, he or she will be able to handle the physical stress associated with the sport.

When it comes to the head and neck region, an ounce of prevention is certainly worth (more than) a pound of cure. Give us a call and set up an appointment to discuss how we can help your young athlete be safe and injury free.