tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290509906785861055.post1708663502190471860..comments2016-02-08T09:13:36.300-08:00Comments on Gabrielle Joseph 119.115: The bones of the matter - Blog 5Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13209721024240637483noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290509906785861055.post-49299571546023293132016-01-09T22:09:35.720-08:002016-01-09T22:09:35.720-08:00Its a very interesting topic seeing as I have now ...Its a very interesting topic seeing as I have now hit the danger zone apparently.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15115229738329462076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290509906785861055.post-59394203499216441372015-12-28T22:37:56.396-08:002015-12-28T22:37:56.396-08:00Very interesting. I hadn't considered that be...Very interesting. I hadn't considered that before, but yes, it does weaken the argument that calcium is the key to less fractures. I believe strength training is definitely an integral part to the equation. Perhaps exercises such as Tai Chi, which are performed regularly in Asian countries and improve balance, maybe reduce the incidence of falling, and therefore the incidence of fractured hips. Christina makes a good point about the shorter hip axis lengths, surely this increases their strength to some degree. It would be interesting to see a study done on this.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17990858890391554552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8290509906785861055.post-60411176489634007382015-12-19T13:40:18.398-08:002015-12-19T13:40:18.398-08:00An interesting paradox indeed. It makes sense that...An interesting paradox indeed. It makes sense that Asian women consume little calcium since they have a high rate of lactose intolerance, and that elderly Asian women have just as high a vertebral fracture occurrence rate as Caucasian women do (http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis/Background/asian_american_women.asp), but it's puzzling that their hip fracture rate is significantly lower. There is some evidence that longer hip axis length contributes to a higher risk of hip fracture, and Asian women generally have shorter hip axis lengths than their Caucasian counterparts, even after height adjustment. There are also some physiological mechanism differences between the races that could contribute to the lower fracture rate among Asians despite lower overall bone mineral density (see the 'Do Risk Factors for Fracture Differ by Ethnicity and Race?' section in http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3111798/). But the data is fairly limited; I agree with you that more research is required.<br /><br />Regardless of age, I think basic resistance/strength training (not just cardiovascular exercise on its own) coupled with good calcium consumption is your best defense against fractures, and there's evidence supporting this (http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/growingstronger/why/index.html). For example, I know a young fit girl about my age that was not calcium deficient in the least, yet had recurrent, inexplicable fractures in her wrist, hip, toes etc that occurred spontaneously as she was doing athletic training over the past two years. The problem only went away when she started doing additional strength training on top of her sports training. Of course, the type of strength training recommended for an older adult will be a bit different to what's appropriate for a younger person. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18404699940817630167noreply@blogger.com