Taken from MimiMagazine, April 2016. Written by Paris Wolfe.
May is National Osteoporosis Awareness Month. The promotion encourages identifying and preventing the low-density bone condition. That’s important because osteoporosis affects 54 million Americans and contributes to two million broken bones per year.
Broken bones are just the immediate medical issue. Osteoporosis and associated bone breaks contribute to higher mortality rates. For example, 20% of seniors who break a hip die within one year from problems relating to the broken bone or related surgery. Of those who survive, many need long-term care of have to move into nursing homes.
Are you losing or maintaining bone density? Dr. Feng is passionate about disease prevention and encourages all of her patients to have a DXA/DEXA scan every two years. A DXA/DEXA scan is a dual energy scan to assess low bone density and possible structural deterioration of the skeletal system as well as body fat composition and lean muscle mass. It utilizes ionizing low energy x-ray and is performed by a radiology technologist at The Feng Clinic for Dr. Feng’s analysis. This scan will not only provide Dr. Feng with a blueprint of your body, it will also act as a tool to access and track changes in your bones every two years. Patients who are looking to optimize their fitness results can benefit from the body fat/lean muscle mass composition scan as frequently as needed.
Who is at risk for osteoporosis?
- Women during and after menopause
- People who exercise excessively resulting in loss of periods or significant weight loss
- Caucasian and Asian ethnicity
- Small boned and thin people
- Elderly people
- People with a family history of osteoporosis
- Men with low testosterone levels
- Smokers
- Alcohol consumers
- Inactive people
- People with a diet low in calcium and vitamin D
- People using certain medications (steroids, thyroid medication, chemotherapy)
- People with some medical conditions like hyperparathyroidism and bowel disease
Call to schedule your appointment.
“A bone break or fracture is your ticket to the nursing home!” – Dr. Lu-Jean Feng
