The Health Blog

Bone density isn’t a thing you can get perfect one time that lasts forever. Bone is a dynamic, living organism, and keeping it in good shape requires a lifetime plan. You’ve got all the pieces in place now, but you have to keep using what you’ve learned if you want your bones to stay strong for as long as you’re using them. The good news is, this program works. With these basic steps, you’ll keep your bones at maximum density. Anyone can do it.

The same areas you’ve been focusing on still apply as you move forward: diet, exercise, supplements, hormones, and, if necessary, medication. To help you stay on top of all the progress you’ve made these six weeks, here’s one last Action Plan to help you organize your strategy for the rest of your life:

Continue on the Bone Density Diet, either going through the cycle of menus provided or picking and choosing from the menus the meals you like and want to use and filling in with your own creations and combinations beyond that.

Continue with the exercise plan you’ve made for yourself, increasing duration, frequency, variety, and/or difficulty as you get more and more fit. Keep scheduling exercise specifically into your calendar at least a month in advance.

Keep up with your supplements, making any necessary adjustments if your circumstances change (e.g., you develop lactose intolerance and stop drinking milk, or you discover calcium carbonate upsets your stomach).

Continue taking whichever hormones, if any, you decided upon, and reevaluate your choice as your situation changes (e.g., you enter menopause, or you develop a health problem affected by hormones, or new research gives you a different perspective). Reevaluating after five years on menopausal HRT is a must.

Keep taking any drug therapies you decided on, and consider adjusting them according to the results of later bone scans. Whether or not you choose a prescription to start with, and no matter which one or ones you use now, reevaluate your plan if your circumstances change (e.g., you go into menopause or start taking a medication that can change bone density).

Check back with your regular doctor about any and all changes you are making to keep him or her up-to-date, and coordinate between the doctor and any other health care professionals you may be working with (nutritionist, physical therapist or personal trainer, endocrinologist, herbalist, etc.). Get follow-up bone scans and NTX measurements as necessary to track your progress.

Keep a diary of all that you are doing—food, exercises, supplements—and review it at the end of two weeks to see if you are meeting your goals. Make any necessary adjustments.

Stay strong and live long!

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Jim was feeling on top of the world as he drove down the highway to a new job site. He was twenty-eight, married a few years, and enjoying success in his job as foreman in a large construction company. He loved working outside, using his physical strength and mental abilities at the same time, and being around people. He had dreams of owning his own company, starting a family, vacationing in the Rocky Mountains.

Jim was almost at his exit when he noticed a truck behind him coming close a little too fast. He figured it was just a case of tailgating intimidation, but before he could change lanes, the truck smashed into his car. Jim lost consciousness. When he came to, he heard ambulance sirens and felt pain in his neck. His legs wouldn’t work. He was trapped in a crushed car and had to be extracted by the Jaws of Life machine.

At the hospital Jim was found to have an incomplete cervical spinal cord injury causing significant weakness in both legs. After his neck was stabilized surgically, he was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility. He couldn’t walk and had to use a wheelchair to get around. He couldn’t urinate normally and had to be catheterized periodically. His neck hurt, and he couldn’t lift anything heavy. He noticed that he didn’t have “morning erections” any more, and he wondered if his sex life was over. He was pretty sure he could never return to his construction job.

Jim’s friends were working and didn’t have much time to visit. His wife came every day, but she couldn’t sleep at the rehabilitation facility. They had no privacy, and Jim couldn’t share his fears and frustrations with her. He was humiliated by his dependence on others, but at the same time he was lonely and felt isolated from people. He wanted more than anything to get well, to walk again, but at times he was so overwhelmed by anger, grief, embarrassment, and fear that he had to force himself to do his physical therapy.

Jim felt his dreams were dashed. It would be easy just to give up. Who would care anyway, when he was so useless to everyone?

After emergency treatment and acute hospitalization, most people with severe spinal cord injury spend some time in an inpatient rehabilitation program. During this period, further assessment is done to determine the effects of the injury on physical function. Doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, and other staff members work with the injured person to prevent complications, maximize remaining physical abilities, develop techniques to compensate for lost abilities, and develop proficiency in the use of assistive devices (such as wheelchairs, braces, and splints). At the same time, family and other caregivers are taught how to assist the injured person in areas where he or she cannot become completely self-sufficient.

The inpatient stay generally ends when the injured person has learned the skills and obtained the equipment needed for living at home. After discharge, outpatient physical therapy and other types of treatment may continue for a brief time or an extended period, depending on individual needs.

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