‘To offset osteoporosis, exercise and proper calcium, Vitamin D intake key’

Karachi

Vigorous exercise with a diet rich in Vitamin D and Calcium from an early age can help achieve peak bone mass and stave off the onset of Osteoporosis later in the life. On the other hand, smoking and consumption of alcohol increase the chances of having weak bones.

Peak bone mass is the amount of bony tissue reached between the ages of 20 and 35, when the bones are strongest. After 35, the bone mass gradually decreases.

Peak bone mass can be increased by ensuring that the diet contains adequate amounts of Vitamin D and Calcium during childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, along vigorous exercise such as walking and climbing stairs in which bones bear the weight of the body.

These views were expressed by health experts while addressing a public awareness seminar on bone health, held in connection with Pak-China MedCong at the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) House. Speakers included Dr Saeed Minhas, an associate professor at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Dr Farhan Essa of Essa Laboratories and PMA Centre’s secretary finance Dr Qaiser Sajjad.

Explaining to the audience, Dr Saeed Minhas said bone is living tissue from which substances are constantly being removed and replaced. He said during childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, large amounts of calcium and other substances are added to the bone structure, strengthening the skeleton as it develops.

He said with age, bones are also being continuously remodelled as old bone tissue is replaced, at different rates at various stages of life.

Dr Minhas said bone formation is influenced by a variety of factors including diet and physical activity. “It is the greatest between 20 and 35 years, when peak bone mass is reached. After this bone ‘resorption’ occurs at a faster rate than bone formation,” he said.

He emphasised that diet was an important factor in maintaining healthy bones. An adequate calcium intake at all stages of life, couple with an active lifestyle, helps ensure that the bones are as strong as possible, he said.

It is particularly important during childhood, adolescence and early adulthood when bones are developing.

He also stressed the need for proper Vitamin D intake, to enable the absorption of Calcium in the body.

Dr Minhas explained as people aged, some loss of calcium from bone is normal but severe loss resulted in gaps in the bone structure which led them to become weak and brittle. “This condition is known as osteoporosis. All bones can be affected by osteoporosis, but fractures are most common in the wrist, back and hip,” he said.

According to him, osteoporosis most frequently affected older women who had gone through menopause, but it could also affect men and younger women. He said regular exercise throughout life was important to keep bones strong.

Workshop  

Meanwhile, a day-long head and neck reconstruction workshop was also organized in the anatomy department of the Karachi Medical and Dental College, as part of the MedCong.

Head of ENT department at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Prof S Khalid Ashrafi, was the course director.

As many as 24 ENT surgeons from various hospital including Dow University of Health Sciences, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, PNS Shifa, CMH Malir, Rangers Hospital North Nazimabad, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi Medical and Dental College and Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry participated in the workshop and learned about reconstruction of the head and neck in various forms of surgery.