According to Healthy Bones Australia, a staggering 173,000+ bone fractures occur each year due to poor bone health, with more than half of those in the over 50 age group.
Townsville radiologist, Dr Alan Boles sees first-hand the effects poor bone health can have on someone’s day to day living.
“Working in an x-ray practice, we see all sorts of injuries due to low bone mineral density which could have been prevented through diet, exercise and good doses of vitamin D in a patient’s formative years. Once you’re of a certain age, bones don’t heal as quickly as they once did. Healthy Bones Week is a timely reminder to all age groups to prioritise bone health through learning what the risk factors are and how to prevent poor bone health.
“We work closely with GPs and specialists to provide patients with Bone Mineral Densitometry (BMD) imaging. This short scan measures bone density in order to provide important information about bone strength and fragility to help assess the associated risk of fractures or breaks. For those over 50 maintaining healthy bones should be a health priority. Sadly, we see all too often what happens when it’s not.”