Fractured vertebrae

[Laterider21958]

Recently found out that I have managed to fracture T7 & T8 vertebrae. I think this occurred while digging out and removing about 20 wheelbarrow loads of old lawn and soil. At the time I thought that I was being "wussie" about muscle soreness. Physio is concerned that it may be a sign of Osteoporosis as the X-ray report indicated more than 20% fracture. It'll take 6 - 8 weeks of healing and in the meantime I've been given strengthening exercises to do. He gave me some literature regarding maintaining bone, which included info on calcium intake, so I've upped the calcium tablets. Fortunately bike riding isn't being discouraged - thank goodness!

I'm taking things easy at the moment and am trying to maintain a good posture and to use my stomach muscles before bending and lifting. By the end of the day I tire and tend to slouch a little. The physio applied two wide strips of tape to my back and this is supposed to be a reminder to keep my shoulders down and back. It's amazing how often I find I'm walking around with my shoulders up instead of down.

So girls (& boys) make sure you use your muscles and not your back to take the strain when doing heavy work - or even the normal day to day stuff.

[jobob]

Oooh we can compare xrays. I was told my T7 resembles a bottle opener. :cool:

Seriously, sorry to hear about your injury. I hope you heal up well.

[cylegoddess]

Ive got tendinitis, and I had to be taped up myself. Wierd isnt it?!

Its sooo damn hard to train myself out of slouching. I finally gave up and got a proper strength training program, to retrain and boost all those muscles I neglected.

[Bike Chick]

Sorry to hear that Laterider. How awful! I hope you heal quickly.

Remember to take your calcium too ladies (if you are "that age") and do weight bearing exercise like walking, running or weights that will increase your bone density.

I have osteopenia and don't want to take a fall on the bike and break a hip:(

[badger]

very good reminder that prevention is best! sorry to hear you're in pain, though.

Just out of curiosity, where exactly do you put the tape? I've been wanting something like that to remind me to have a better posture. I slouch oh-so-badly!

[tulip]

Owie! I hope you get relief soon!

For those of you who are concerned about this, start doing Pilates or other core strengthening work NOW. It is never too early, or too late. Many people have falls when they get old because they've lost the strength in their cores to hold themselves up.

Also, calcium is important throughout life, not just when you realize you don't have enough.

Take care, everybody!

[OakLeaf]

Ouch! Heal up quick....

And core strength is important to prevent falls, but so is proprioceptive work - direct balance training, barefoot walking/running, yoga or martial arts, writing the alphabet with your toes. Not that either one has anything to do with Laterider's injury...

[Wahine]

Ouch!! Get better soon!!

[cylegoddess]

Get well soon!!:)

[Laterider21958]

Finally got to see Dr. who looked at X-ray report has prescribed Actonel (Risedronate Sodium) one/per month tablet. He said that I met the criteria for being allowed this med as I have 2 fractures, plus he saw some crushing of T9 as well. I was expecting to have to have a bone density test to confirm that I have Osteoporosis, but this test wasn't mentioned.

After reading the information sheet in the medication packet I'm in a pickle. This type of medication may cause jaw-bone problems in some people, which include infection and healing problems after extraction or drilling into the bone. I currently have an abscess on my tooth and am due to undergo root canal treatment, which takes a few months to complete usually. After researching on the net I've come to the conclusion that I would probably be a prime candidate for complications, so have decided to not take the medication. I'm upping my calcium intake and adding Vit. D as well as following the weight training programme my physio set up as well as 1/2 hour walking each day. The possibility of having my jaw-bone die due to infection is scary and I don't want to risk yet more problems.

I'm now also wondering if my dental problems of the past few years were actually a sign that calcium was being leached out of my bones and teeth. Perhaps my deteriorating dental health (despite regular dental care and check-ups and dentist saying that it is to be expected in people my age) was a sign I should have picked up on.

Be warned! Start taking Calcium and Vit. D way before reaching 50.

[spokewench]

I would schedule a bone density test to see what is going on.

[Biciclista]

I hope you're taking A LOT of Vit D2... I got off the actonel when i discovered that women are still having fractures even when they take the stuff for years...

[Zen]

I'm on 50,000 units of Vit D weekly.
You read it right, 50K

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Laterider, wow, I hope you heal quickly and with little pain!

I think it's D3 we are supposed to be taking?
If you up your calcium, be sure to take about 1/2 that amount of magnesium- which goes hand and hand with the calcium absorption.

I've been taking extra calcium, magnesium, and cod liver oil capsules (natural A&D) for many years. Had a bone density test last year at 55, and came out fairly good. I just had a fancy vitamin D blood level test a few weeks ago (my gyno orders one for every patient just once to catch any bad deficiencies, cause he said he's finding most of his patients are way too low), and I was thrilled to be told I had excellent levels of D. :)
I don't spend very much time in the sun uncovered or un-sunscreened, and D is almost impossible to get in food, so it must be the years of those golden little Norwegian cod liver oil capsules every other day or so. :D

[tctrek]

I'm on 50,000 units of Vit D weekly.
You read it right, 50K

OMG :eek:-- how to you take that much? I'm taking 800 units a day of Vit D and thought that was good and would have to take take 10x that to hit your dosage. How did you arrive at 50K and how do you manage it?

[tctrek]

Also, just FYI... my bone density at 50 diagnosed "osteopenia".. I know there's been some threads going around questioning if this condition even exists or if it is just natural aging.

Anyway, that was 8 years ago. They put me on Actonel. I took it for 1.5 years and my next bone density I had recovered all the bone loss and put on some extra. So, I stopped taking it. But I had zero adverse reaction to the Actonel. I just hated that I had to take it first thing in the morning (1x a week) and couldn't eat, drink or lay down for an hour after I took it.

Fast forward 6.5 years -- bone density test and bingo -- "osteopenia" again! Now I'm just doing Calcium and Vit D. Do up for another bone density in a few months to see how it's doing, but if I had to take Actonel again I would do it.

[Laterider21958]

Just returned from seeing a doctor (same clinic I visited Mon. but different Dr.) Went to sort out ear infection which wasn't responding to treatment, mentioned the tooth abscess (same side as the offending ear) and then the fact that I had decided not to take the Actonel prescribed by a different doctor in the same practice. The doctor today praised me for being cautious and told me that this drug should not be taken within 6 months of having completed any intrusive dental work and certainly not during the treatment. He said that the drug was the right one to treat my suspected Osteoporosis, but not the right one for me to take at the moment. I queried the need for a bone density test to confirm what was going on with my spine and he happily filled out a referral form. At least I'll know what shape my bones are in now and, perhaps in a year, I'll ask for another test to see if my walking, light weights conditioning program and vitamin intake has made any difference.

From what I've read in "Herbs & Natural Supplements" Lesley Braun & Marc Cohen taking supplements can be a complex balance, easily upset if you take too much, not enough or not any. I think I'll have to consult a professional for advice.

Thanks for your feedback. It's interesting to know how other people deal with the same problem.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

TcTrek,
I can't answer for Zen, but when my gynocologist was suggesting i get the vitD blood test, I said "So I get the usual 400mg in a daily multivitamin....if it turns out from the test that I'm deficient then I should maybe double or triple that for a while to like 800 or 1200mg?".....
and he answered- "No no, they are drastically rethinking the minimum daily requirement now to perhaps ten times what they thought people needed all these years, so you may see vitamins get readjusted to 4,000mg or more soon. But when I find my patient deficient i have her take 10,000 to 12,000mg per day for a few months, then go back to around 5-8,000 mg daily after that as a normal daily amount."

Needless to say, I was pretty amazed. But he is a smart and experienced women's doctor who's had thousands of patients over the decades, many of them older women with bone issues. I now make sure I ingest at least 4,000mg a day, but then again i don't have a D deficiency.
I also think it's important to try to balance your vitamins and minerals so that you are not taking a lot of one thing and hardly any of another thing that needs to work together with it. That's why I like to take fish liver oil that has both A&D naturally, calcium along with magnesium and the vitD, and vitC with riboflavinoids (sp?). I figure thats how lucky cavewomen would eat- stumbling upon wild fruits or fish and eating the whole complex shebang- peel, pulp, seeds, skin, organs, certain bones or marrow, liver, and all.

Hmmm.....maybe Mimi can grind me up some whole chickens! :eek: :D

[Laterider21958]

Bearing that in mind BleeckerSt Girl, what does 12.5mcg cholecalciferol (equivalent to Vit. D3 - 500 IU) translate into? mcg are less that mg aren't they? It's in the 600mg Calcium tablet I was given at the pharmacy. I suspect that it won't be nearly enough to make a difference to my situation, especially when taking the dosages in some of the previous posts into consideration.

[Eden]

If you are interested in Vit D and the changing thinking about how much one needs, how it is best measured and tested for, what it affects and how you should get it (diet, supplements, sunshine), a doc that I work with just did an hour long lecture on it. The talk is directed at other docs, but he's a relatively plain spoken kind of guy, so he doesn't launch into incomprehensible med speak unless entirely necessary and even gives the listeners a warning when he's about to do it.

You can find his talk streaming here http://www.seattlechildrens.org/healthcare-professionals/online-grand-rounds-detail.aspx?id=73843

One of the more interesting things I learned is that sun dried mushrooms (especially shitake) are an incredible source of D - they produce D in the sun much like your skin does! You can even expose already dried shrooms to the sun and create more D that is stored. Sardines are good too, but shitakes are much more tasty.

[NbyNW]

Laterider,

Good for you for reading the fine print on the medication and doing the research and getting a second opinion. You are your own best advocate in the end. I hope the latest series of tests give you some useful info and that those bones heal up soon.