- No pain.
- No fever.
- There weren’t any obvious signs.
However, after just a seemingly slight slip, many people have to face broken wrists, collapsed vertebrae or serious hip fractures. That silent disease is osteoporosis.
Many Vietnamese women often pay special attention to blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol or cancer screening, but rarely think about the health of their bones and joints.
Meanwhile, after menopause, the amount of estrogen hormone drops sharply, causing bone loss to occur faster. In addition, low weight and small stature typical of Asians are also leading risk factors that increase the rate of osteoporosis.
1. Osteoporosis: The silent killer that deprives women of independence
The scariest thing is that osteoporosis often does not cause any clinical symptoms for many years. You can still walk, work and live completely normally, while the bone density inside is silently decreasing over time.
Many people only really know they have osteoporosis after the first bone fracture has occurred.
For older people, a hip fracture is not simply a story of wearing a cast or having orthopedic surgery and that’s it. A disastrous fall can turn a person who is completely free to move around, cook, and take care of himself suddenly forced to stay in the hospital for a long time, undergo major surgery, use a wheelchair, and be completely dependent on his children and grandchildren for even the smallest daily activities.
In other words, osteoporosis deprives you of your independence and freedom of choice when you get old.
2. Instructions for osteoporosis screening and insurance benefits in the US
Screening is not to make us more afraid, but to proactively detect weak bones before it is too late.
In the US, women aged 65 and older are always recommended to have regular osteoporosis screening using bone density measurement, often called DXA or DEXA scan.
For women who have gone through menopause but are less than 65 years old, your doctor may also prescribe earlier screening if you have high risk factors including:
- Low weight or small stature.
- Have a biological parent who has had a hip fracture.
- I once suffered a broken bone after a minor injury or collision.
- Going through early menopause or having surgery to remove the ovaries prematurely.
- Have a habit of smoking or drinking a lot of alcohol.
- Physically inactive lifestyle.
- Diet lacking calcium and vitamin D over a long period of time.
- High doses or long-term use of steroid medications (such as prednisone).
- Suffering from intestinal diseases, thyroid disease, kidney disease or chronic inflammatory diseases.
Health insurance benefits when measuring bone density in the US
The good news is that in the US, many health insurance plans fully cover osteoporosis screening if you are in the appropriate age group or have the right risk factors.
For most private insurance plans that comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), bone densitometry is classified as a free preventive care service for:
- Women aged 65 and over.
- Menopausal women under 65 years old but assessed to be at high risk of osteoporosis or bone fractures.
When performed according to the doctor’s professional prescription and at in-network medical facilities, this screening service will be fully covered by the insurance Patients do not have to pay out-of-pocket for copays or deductibles. However, the specific level of payment will depend on each insurance package, facility and how the doctor writes the billing codes.
3. 6 Proactive strategies to prevent osteoporosis today
Don’t wait until you’re 65 to start paying attention to your bones. The process of preventing osteoporosis does not begin in old age, but it is determined by your lifestyle choices today through 6 core strategies:
1. Persistently practice resistance exercises
forms of exercise such as brisk walking, climbing stairs, dancing, jogging (if physical condition allows) and resistance exercises all bring great benefits to bones.
Sports like swimming and cycling are extremely good for the cardiovascular system, but because the body doesn’t have to bear much weight in the water or on the saddle, they shouldn’t be the only forms of exercise if your ultimate goal is to protect your bones.
In particular, women should not be afraid of lifting weights. Strengthening exercises not only help maintain bone density and muscle mass, but also help improve the body’s ability to balance, thereby directly reducing the risk of falls as you get older.
(Note: If you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, have broken a bone, or have mobility problems, talk carefully with your doctor or physical therapist before starting high-impact exercises).
2. Ensure calcium content in the diet
Calcium is found in milk, yogurt, cheese, tofu (calcium-added types), sardines, canned salmon with bones, and some dark green vegetables. Recommended standard calcium needs usually fall into the range of:
- 1,000 mg/day for women 19–50 years old.
- 1,200 mg/day for women 51 years of age and older.
You should note that this is the total amount of calcium coming from all sources (foods, drinks and supplements), and does not mean that every woman is required to take 1,200 mg calcium tablets per day. Our bodies always prioritize absorbing calcium from natural foods. You should only use supplements when your daily diet does not meet your needs or when there is a specific medical indication from your doctor.
3. Don’t forget to supplement Vitamin D
Vitamin D acts as a key to help the body absorb calcium optimally. People with little exposure to sunlight, the elderly, people with certain medical conditions or living in areas with long winters are often at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency.
However, vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and should not be taken in high doses for long periods of time without medical supervision. Please talk to your doctor for detailed dosage advice.
4. Provide enough protein for the body
Our skeleton is not simply made of calcium. Protein is an extremely important component that makes up bone structure and helps maintain surrounding muscle mass. When the muscular system is healthy, the body’s ability to balance will be better and the risk of falling will automatically decrease.
5. Say no to tobacco and limit alcohol
Smoking is a factor that accelerates bone loss in the body. Meanwhile, alcohol abuse not only negatively affects the health of bone cells, but also increases the risk of dizziness, loss of control and leading to falls.
4. Don’t consider falling as an obvious part of old age
Efforts to protect bone health do not just stop at making bones stronger, but also proactively minimizing the possibility of falling from the outside.
Poor vision, use of medications with side effects that cause dizziness, muscle weakness due to lack of exercise, inappropriate footwear, loose carpets or slippery bathroom floors are all leading causes of increased risk of falls in the elderly.
Osteoporosis is absolutely not a destiny or inevitability that every woman must accept in old age. We cannot change the rules of age or genetic factors from our family, but we have the right to proactively build and protect our bone health with a proper exercise regime, scientific nutrition, healthy lifestyle and performing screening at the right time.
You don’t need to memorize every complicated medical standard in this article. During your next annual physical visit with your family doctor, you only need to proactively ask one question:
“Given my age and current risk factors, do I need a bone density test yet?”
A proactive screening at the right time can help you avoid a painful bone fracture and its consequences many years later.
What do you think about these medical shares of mine? Do you have a plan to protect bone health for yourself and your parents? Please leave a comment below to let me know.
If you find this article useful, please share it with the beloved women around you!
Dr. Christina Nguyen
Phoenix Medical Academy
