Breaking bones. Is there anything we can do about it?
Some months ago I fell on the concrete driveway - came down heavy on my left side, managed to keep my head from connecting too hard, but my glasses dug into my face and I got a black eye. Other that there was little damage – hardly a bruise. Boy was I thankful. I picked myself up, looked around to see if I needed to get embarrassed because someone saw me do this clumsy stunt and went back to doing my chores.
But I still wonder why I didn’t break a bone or two, or even bruise badly where I landed, considering that I am 85 years old. It wasn’t a gentle subsidence onto the driveway, it was quite a forceful fall. I went down like a sack of potatoes.
A big concern as we get older is breaking bones. Our balance is not as good, our vision is not as good, our coordination is not as good…
Bones are made of calcium, mainly I think we all know that, but not everyone knows that there is a lot of protein in bones too. Calcium makes for rigid strength, proteins for flexibility. Bones need both.
How much protein do we need to keep our bones, and the rest of us, healthy? The answer to that is: take your weight in pounds and divide by half. That gives you a ballpark figure of how many grams of protein you need daily - at least. Are you getting enough? Check it out. There are lots of websites to help you do this.
This is all part of self care. I make sure I have enough of both and believe that is why I didn't break a bone when I did my driveway stunt. So thankful!
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If you stick a bone in acid and leave it for long enough the calcium will leach out and you will be left with a "rubbery" bendable "bone". which is protein.
I know falling and breaking bones is a big issue for seniors. I am more cautious than I used to be.
In the last years the recommended amount of protein for seniors has been increased. You need more as you get older to keep your body in balance. That's not always easy for seniors so it is important to have an idea what it means in real life.
For example a150 pound woman needs at least 75 gms of protein and it should be spread out between all three meals.
In actual food terms that could be; 1 egg (6 gm), 1 tbsp peanut butter (5 gm) , 1 cup skim milk (8 gm), 6 oz Greek yogurt (18 gm),
1 3 ounce serving of chicken (28 gm), 3 oz tuna (22 gm)
which would give you 87 gm protein - about right,
It's not that hard and very important for your bones, and more.
I don't know what made her so resilient that way, but she just had tough bones, I guess. She also only ever had one cavity, and she never flossed her teeth once. Go figure.
Now I'm scared that I'm going to do this again. When my foot finally heals and I'm back to walking normal again will I feel as safe? I sure hope so.
I'm not a great eater. When I do eat I make healthy choices but I've always been a picker, not someone who eats big, hearty meals. Given a choice I'd just as soon pop a calcium pill to be honest. I have been eating a lot of chia lately. I've heard that it's a source of protein and I do like my yogurt and cheese. Never was a big meat eater though.
But thx for bringing this up Golden. Perfect timing for me!
Yet my Mom had many falls but never broke a bone. When I saw her grocery list I knew why, milk... cottage cheese... regular cheese... yogurt... ice cream.
Unfortunately, I am lactose intolerant. I do take 2 Tums every day, those I can tolerate but not calcium tablets.
I had 2 lab puppies and they went 2 ways at a fast pace while going down a dirt embankment, I was holding both leashes. I hit hard and ALL I could think of was, "Did anyone see me?" Not "Am I broken or bleeding?"
Such great information. I am a bit obsessive about feeding us enough protein, calcium is easier to get passively with our diet. I believe I have avoided broken bones because of this.
Especially since I was diagnosed and treated for osteopenia in my early 30s.
Dd "What do you want for breakfast?"
Oldest son "Toast and jam."
Dd "You can't have just toast and jam. There's not enough protein in it."
Me *fist pump* "Yay, I did it."
I am sure the diet you follow has prevented breaks. Good for you.
And if any of you are taking Boniva, check with your doc on taking a break from it. My mom took it for many years and studies show that it causes very brittle bones that will break easily and the breaks are more shattered so more difficult to fix. After the research mom's doc took her off of it. She never broke any bones, thank goodness.
Since breaking these metatarsal bones I'm really going to be extra cognizant of what I eat to protect my bones as much as I can.
I am so sorry that you fell. It could have ended up being so much worse.
I loved cycling. It was nothing for me to ride for miles and miles and miles, daily, just for fun. I cycled like that for most of my life, since a young teen.
Anyway, I hopped on my bicycle for my usual ride and there was debris in the road that I didn’t see. Down I went, hard!
I actually saw my open compound fracture occur when I hit the street. I went into shock though and didn’t feel any pain right away.
Fortunately, a guy that was driving right behind me stopped to help and I told him that I was fine! LOL
He looked at me kind of funny and then said, “Lady, you are not fine, I saw you fall. You are in shock and I am going to call 911 for you and wait with you until an ambulance arrives.”
I said to him, “ What about my bike? I can’t leave my bike in the street! This dear man took my bicycle to my home. He called my husband and filled him in about my accident and waited with me until help arrived.
By the time I got into the ambulance the shock had worn off and I was screaming in pain and yelled at the driver to stop hitting so many bumps! LOL 😆
The guy riding in the back with me was trying to calm me down and said he knew that I was in pain but that I couldn’t scream at the driver.
The driver screamed back saying, “I am sorry but I can’t help hitting the bumps and I am trying to get you to the ER as fast as I can.
As soon as I got to the ER I was screaming for meds but they wouldn’t give me any until the doctor came in.
As soon as the surgeon walked in and saw both of my bones broken he screamed at them to give me meds immediately!
I had surgery, steel rods on both bones. My ortho surgeon said after the surgery that I would be paralyzed. I didn’t believe him but he was right.
My parents came to see me in the hospital the next day. Even with the morphine drip I was in pain. The doctor said that with my injury the morphine would only take the edge off. Later on I had intense muscle spasms.
My mom says, “Honey, you don’t look comfortable. Let me adjust your bed.” I said, “Please, Mom don’t touch anything because I just got in a position that I can sort of tolerate the pain.” Of course, she ignored me and started pushing my hospital bed buttons.
I had to ask my dad to make her stop.
At least I waited until I was 44 to break my first bones!
After three months of aggressive physical therapy I made it through. Some permanent damage but most of my range of motion came back. No grip strength though.
My ortho surgeon told me to switch to an exercise bike after my accident because if I broke my arm again he wouldn’t be able to fix it.
I get searched at the airport because of all the metal in me. I tell them ahead of time but they search me anyway.
Then there's my Swedish-American husband. He grew up on the "typical" American diet of Spaghettio's and Velveta. I like to think it's because of the mediterranean diet I've been feeding him for 40+ years. He broke his femur in high school hockey. At 65 he still plays hockey 3x a week and has taken many falls, with no broken bones. When I was a kid I watched my Italian grandmother stand on a wobbly chair in the kitchen trying to change a lightbulb and fall clean off it onto her hip, then pop up as if nothing happened, She was in her 70s and lived to be 96. She ate very little dairy, took no vitamins and did no "weight bearing" exercises. She gave birth 9 times. Some of our bone density is probably due to heredity, but not all of it.
FYI when I fall, my first thought is, "Did my Mother see that?" because she would start cackling like a hyena.
Geaton is correct that we need to get our calcium from other places and that is dark green things.
Me, I am afraid of breaking something. I no longer wear flip flops or sandals with no back straps. I have 3 sets of steps and do better in bare or stocking feet. Shoes always seem to catch in the carpet. My Mom broke her shoulder coming in the back door with flip flops on. She fell a few times in her AL, but never broke anything and she was in her late 80s.
Never eat anything processed, well, almost never.
Sorry about your fall, but, glad you are OK.
Long story short, or not, I had bad one some time ago.
Parking at medical facility for my husband’s appointment, I opened my car door and dinged car next to mine.
This rather big lady jumped out and started at me, demanding insurance info, I asked politely to wait, as I was trying to get my husband’s walker from the trunk, he seeing this lady was ready to physically assault me, was trying to be helpful, so I am getting his walker, he is falling so I tried to stop him, fell with walker and him on top. All for little ding in her car, the size of tip of simple pen.
Nothing happened thankfully.
I do believe in proper eating, never dieting, as it is more harmful than good and exercise and especially lifting weights.
As Geaton said, we need to find our calcium elsewhere. Dark green veggies are one of the ways.
For me, to prevent falls I have stopped wearing flip flops and sandals with no back strap. I do not wear shoes in the house, its either barefoot or stocking feet. I find I maneuver steps better and I have 3 sets.
Keep in mind that 1 kilogram equals 2.2 pounds. So, for example, a 140-pound person should eat about 51 grams of protein each day. But some people will need more, if physically active
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4924200/
We were snow skiing and we got on a very steep, narrow, icy trail. I freaked out, fear of falling off the side of a cliff kicked in and my skiing ability left the mountain.
So, I, somehow, get the front of my skis crossed on top of one another, so I was slingshot over the top of my skis, hitting forehead first on the ice.
My husband comes over and sits me up, a group of skiers that saw it happen come down and ask if I want them to call ski patrol. My dear husband says no, thank you. They ski away and I grab his coat, pull him into me and sob, why did you say no. Now he freaks out, I am NOT a crier and he asks me what I want to do. I tell him, "I just want to get out of the wet grass."
Yeah!
Needless to say, I skied off the run, finished our holiday and had an MRI when I got home. Not the brightest decision but, the room and lift tickets were paid for and I didn't get many vacations.
Now the joke is I am hard headed in more ways then one :-)
My daughter learned the hard way how important snow boots are when she moved to Denver.
My crazy southern girl went to get her mail in her slippers! Her first apartment there was a third floor walk up. She went tumbling down three flights of stairs! She made sure that her next apartment had an elevator.
No broken bones but she had blown out her knee when she was on the dance team at school.
She hurt her knee again, along with her neck and back. She has back and neck issues from a car accident that she had in high school in which she totaled my car!
The accident was totally her fault. I told her absolutely ‘NO’ driving with friends in the car until she was a more experienced driver. Did she listen? Nope!
She was covered in blood in the ER from hitting her head on the steering wheel. I was so scared when I saw her like that. She had to be stitched up just above her eye.
She looked up at me from the gurney and said, “Mom, I am so sorry about your car.” Of course, I told her, “Honey, I love you. The car is just a hunk of metal and can be replaced. The main thing is that you are going to be okay.”
No internal bleeding or anything. She was banged up though. Her friends were okay but shaken up.
I couldn’t help but think to myself, ‘Is this payback for my rebellious teen behavior. LOL 😆
Youth! We can go through our ‘young and stupid’ days! It’s a good thing that we outgrow our years of thinking we ‘know it all!’
My daughter learned a tough lesson and ended up becoming a very responsible driver.
She’s still very active. My kids have always been super active.
She’s back home in Louisiana now, along with her beautiful Siberian husky. Working remotely with her same job but she is headed back to Colorado for vacation when ski season begins. She is dying to go snowboarding too.
Both of my daughters did gymnastics, dance and volleyball.
So many kids end up in physical therapy from sports injuries! I suppose the worst injuries are with the guys on the football teams.
https://nymblscience.com/
I saw where you wrote that your mom laughed when someone fell.
Sometimes, scenarios can be funny looking! Like a scene out of a movie.
One time I was out to eat with a group of friends, during this time of year, for a holiday dinner and gift exchange.
Anyway, we all ordered cocktails before dinner. The restaurant was packed. The waiter was super busy and was rushing to serve our drinks to us. He slipped and all of our drinks went flying in a million different directions.
Well, my friend, Cindy and I started laughing hysterically because it looked so crazy! Another friend started screaming at us that we shouldn’t be laughing because he could be hurt.
The waiter got up and saw Cindy and I laughing and he started cracking up too. He wasn’t hurt, a bit embarrassed and he obviously had a terrific sense of humor.
We gave him a huge tip!
Your threads are always the most interesting to read and participate in.
I love your spirit and warmth!
I used to be anorexic when I was in my early teens and never have had a healthy relationship with food. If I over indulge one day I'll eat next to nothing the next two days. Very bad I know. I should know better but old habits die hard.
I'll try to heed it. I do love my dairy. I eat lots of yogurt and I love cheese but try not to eat too much cause it's fattening. If I can locate it I'll eat low fat cheese but have a hard time finding it.
This whole experience with my foot has been eye opening. I'll be more sympathetic to others from now on. Staggering around on my crutches has proven to be a conversation starter. People always say something.