Bone Care: What to Do for Parents and Older People

First aid after a broken bone is very important. Whenever there is a fracture, especially in the case of the hand or foot, the bone should be roughly straightened and wrapped well with a piece of wood, stick or cardboard with a cloth or bandage, so that the area remains straight. Many times, the hand or foot becomes bent after a bone is broken. What is the first aid if a bone is broken in an accident while walking? It is very important to know what to follow in the care of bones of elderly people.

Main causes of bone fractures: One of the causes of bone fractures in Bangladesh is accidents. Of which more than 90 percent are road accidents. Apart from this, bones can be broken for various reasons, including falling from trees or high buildings, and factory accidents. Bones can also be broken due to age or bone loss. Accidental bone fractures can generally be of two types. Only bone fractures and injuries or wounds to the bone and the surrounding soft tissue or muscles. Initial precautions and early treatment are very important for both types of fractures.

Initial steps: When a bone breaks anywhere in the body, there is usually intense pain at first, the area swells, and movement is reduced or stopped. However, it cannot be confirmed by looking at these symptoms alone. An X-ray can definitely tell if it is broken or not. Initial steps are important if you break or get injured somewhere.

 

If a bone breaks due to an accident or other injury, the patient does not want to stay still due to pain. Those around them also become restless. Someone starts pulling and pulling again, trying to fix or straighten the bone. But this can cause more damage. This pulling can cause more damage than the damage of the broken bone. Because, moving the broken bone can tear the muscles and blood vessels around the broken part.

 

In the initial stage of blunt trauma or just a broken bone, as little movement as possible should be done. The patient should be kept still, the injured limb or arm should not be moved. It should not be tied tightly under any circumstances. Ice can be applied to reduce pain and swelling. If one leg is broken, it can be tied to the other leg and immobilized and taken to the nearest hospital. Bone grafting can also be done by a specialist.

 

Sometimes, a broken bone may not cause severe pain. It is difficult to guess whether the bone is actually broken by looking at the patient. Many people neglect it because they can move normally even after a bone fracture, so they do not go to the hospital immediately or rush to the doctor. The consequences are very bad. If the bone is treated quickly and properly, the sooner the bone can heal, the weaker it becomes if it is delayed. Even if the bone does not heal in the right place, it may heal crookedly or not at all. Then you will have to endure suffering for the rest of your life.

How to prevent a hip fracture in the elderly: Osteoporosis is a major cause of bone fractures in the elderly. Osteoporosis also has many causes. Bone density decreases with age. Usually, people aged 50 or older are affected by this disease. After menopause in women, the level of estrogen hormone suddenly decreases in the body. Because of this, the bones become thin and brittle. Prevention is better than treatment of this disease. One of the ways to prevent it is to stay active throughout life, exercise regularly, and eat nutritious food. Those at risk can be given anti-osteoporosis drugs as per the advice of their doctor. Smoking should be avoided.

Regular physical exercise should be done from a young age to take care of the bones.

 

The neck of the femur bone in the elderly, meaning the hip bone or its surroundings, breaks. Healthy people break their hips while standing or walking or after a minor injury. It is assumed that they have broken their hips after falling or tripping, but in most cases, the elderly fall after breaking the bone. Sometimes, even a minor injury can break or rupture the bone.

 

Bone care for the elderly: As the average life expectancy of the country's people is increasing, so is the number of bone fractures in the elderly, including femoral neck fractures or hip fractures. If you break this bone, you have to be bedridden. Again, because it is a complex and expensive surgery, many people are in a dilemma that if the operation does not benefit them, it is not worth it. However, patients can walk quickly after surgery. In this case, age is not a barrier.

However, we should take care of our bones before we get old. As we age, everyone's bone density and strength start to decrease. People's awareness about osteoporosis or bone fragility has increased these days. In this problem, bone density decreases, resulting in the risk of breaking easily. Regular exercise should be done from adolescence. This increases bone strength. Bone density is determined around the age of 20. Therefore, bones should be taken care of from a young age. Such as regular physical exercise, eating nutritious food. Adequate calcium and vitamin D-rich foods should be eaten from childhood. During pregnancy, breastfeeding and after menstruation, women should eat more calcium. In addition, calcium and vitamin D pills should be taken if necessary at this time.

 

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