Unichem Manly Pharmacy

Remember this golden oldie..."The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone's connected to the hip bone..." But osteoporosis is not about the connections, rather how strong your bones are. We are all living longer, so we need to make sure our skeletons last! One in 3 females and one in 5 males will suffer an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetime with 4,000 hip fractures per year in New Zealand alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The good news is that lifestyle modifications can improve bone health and there are also safe and effective treatments available.

Exercises to strengthen your bones include weight bearing aerobic exercise (eg. dance), resistance training using free weights or body weight (eg. pilates) plus exercises to improve posture, balance and body strength ( eg. tai chi)

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Calcium from your diet is important. Low fat dairy including milk and yoghurt are excellent sources. Vitamin D helps to increase the absorption of calcium from food to optimise bone function.

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Treatment includes prescription medications that work on the bone making cells and helping restore lost bone and prevent further bone loss. These are available through your doctor after consultation as to ascertain your needs.

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So are your bones healthy? There are several ways to test your bone mass to give you an indication of your bone health including assessment through your doctor. Another way to assess your risk is by an ultrasound bone analysis through the heal.  This type of analysis will:

 

• Measure the structure, elasticity and density of your bone

• Assess your fracture risk

• Give and explained graphical display of your assessment

 

Jeanette from Ultrascan provides heal analysis to check your bone health and fracture risk.  She will be visiting Unichem Manly on Thursday 14th September 2023. Phone 09 4247708 to make your booking. Cost is $45 for a 15 minute appointment. Results available immediately.