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HEALTH^G^.
Livingbetter with osteoporosis
By David Reilly
www.capecodhealthcare.org
May is NationalOsteoporo-
sisAwareness and Prevention
Month, yet many of the 44
million Americans at risk for
osteoporosis - including 55
percent of the people 50 years
old and older - are unaware
that they have the disease
until they fracture a bone.
The National Osteoporosis
Foundation ( NOF) uses the
increased awareness in the
month of May to highlight
several things people can do
to protect themselves against
this disease, including regular
exercise; making sure your
diet has enough calcium and
Vitamin D; avoiding certain
medications, including some
steroids that weaken bones;
limiting alcohol and caffeine;
quitting smoking; and talking
to your doctor about treat-
ment options.
Many at risk
The NOF estimates that
10 million people have this
disease and 34 million more
are estimated to have the low
bone mass that places them
at risk for the disease. Women
are four times more likelythan
men to develop osteoporosis.
And anyone -at any age -can
get it if they don't take proper
care of their body and their
bones.
Osteoporosis is often called
the "silent disease" because
bone loss occurs without
symptoms.Because bones are
constantly changing, they can
heal and may be affected by
diet and exercise. Until the
age of about 30, you build and
store bone efficiently, accord-
ing to the NOF.Then, as part
of the natural aging process ,
your bones begin to break
down faster than new bone
can be formed. In women ,
bone loss accelerates after
menopause, when your ova-
ries stop producing estrogen
— the hormone that protects
against bone loss.
If not prevented or if left
untreated , osteoporosis can
progress painlessly as bones
gradually break down, until
a bone breaks. These broken
bones occur typically in the
hip. spine and wrist. People
may not even know they have
osteoporosis until their bones
become soweakthat asudden
strain, bump or fall causes a
fracture or a vertebra to col-
lapse.
Fractures of the hip and
the spine are of significant
concern because they almost
alwaysrequire hospitalization
and surgery, and can impair a
person's ability to walk unas-
sisted. Collapsed vertebrae
may initially be felt or seen
in the form of severe back
pain, loss of height, or spinal
deformities such as kyphosis
or stooped posture.
Surgical Solution to
Spinal Fractures
Osteoporosis actuallycauses
more than 700,000 spinal frac-
tures eachyear in the U.S. Left
untreated , multiple spinal
fractures can result in kypho-
sis—a serious health condition
marked by forward curvature
of the upper back, often de-
scribed as a "hunchback" .
When severe , this deformity
can compress the abdominal
cavity and elevate the risk for
complications and death. It
can also cause back pain so
severe that dailyactivitiessuch
as walking, climbing stairs or
grocery shopping are no longer
possible. Despite this, up until
several years ago, patients
had no treatment options
other than pain medication
and rest.
At Cape Cod Hospital , a
treatment called Balloon Ky-
phoplasty is now offered as an
option for patients suffering
from spinal fractures due to
osteoporosis. Balloon Kypho-
plasty is a minimally invasive
procedure that significantly
reduces back pain, restores
the height of the fractured
vertebra, and improves the
ability to return to activities
of daily living.
"Kyphoplasty is extremely
effective for treating spinal
compression fractures caused
byvariousailments,most com-
monlyosteoporosis,"saidPaul
Houle,M.D., aboard-certified
neurosurgeon on staff at Cape
Cod Hospital. "The procedure
takesless than 30minutes and
eight out of 10 patients say
they have immediate relief."
Dr. Houle and his partners
at Neurosurgeons of Cape
Cod - Achilles Papavasiliou ,
M.D., and Patrick Murray,
M.D., - have long been tout-
ing the benefits of Balloon
Kyphoplasty. The benefits of
this procedure include:
• Correction of vertebral
body deformity
• Significant improvement
in mobility
• Significant reduction in
back pain
• Low complication rate
• Significant improvement
in ability to perform daily
activities
• Significant improvement
in quality of life
What Is Involved
In Balloon
Kyphoplasty?
Balloon Kyphoplasty is a
minimallyinvasive treatment
for spinal fractures. With a
hollow instrument , the sur-
geon creates a small pathway
through a tiny incision (ap-
proximately one centimeter
in length) into the fractured
bone. A small orthopedic bal-
loon isthen guided through the
instrument into the vertebrae.
The balloon is then carefully
inflated inan effort to raise the
collapsed vertebra and return
it to its normal position.
Once the vertebra is in the
correct position,the balloonis
deflated and removed,creating
a cavity within the vertebral
body. The cavity isfilled with a
special cement to support the
surrounding bone and prevent
further collapse. The cement
forms an internal cast that
holds the vertebra in place.
Balloon Kyphoplasty can be
done under local or general
anesthesia. Typically the en-
tire procedure takes less than
one hour per fracture treated
and may require an overnight
hospital stay. "Patients notice
a significant reduction in the
number of days where pain
interferes with their daily
activities ," said Dr. Houle.
"Most patients are very satis-
fied with this procedure and
are able to gradually resume
normal activities shortly after
they are discharged from the
hospital."
Furthermore,resultsof afirst-
ever two-year study conducted
by Dr. Jon Ledlie, M.D., a re-
nowned neurosurgeon at Tyler
NeurosurgicalAssociatesinTy-
ler,Texas,and Dr.Mark Renfro,
M.D., found that the majority of
patients experienced complete
pain relief , required signifi-
cantly fewer pain medications,
and showed improvement in
their ability to walk indepen-
dently and without difficulty
after Balloon Kyphoplasty.
The study, published January
2006 in Spine ,alsoshowed that
Balloon Kyphoplasty restored
height and maintained shape
of the affected vertebrae, re-
sults that were maintained
for two years after treatment.
According to the authors, such
outcomes may have a positive
effect on long-term health and
mortality.
For more information on Balloon
Kyphoplasty or other options for
treating osteoporosis , please contact
Neurosurgeons of Cape Cod at 508-
771-0006. Or, for further information ,
please visit www.nof.org.
Osteoporosis risk factors
Certain people are more likely to develop osteoporosis
than others. Risk factors that increase the likelihood of
developing osteoporosis include:
• Personal history of fracture after age 50
• Current low bone mass
• Being female
• Being thin and/or having a small frame
• Advanced age
• A familyhistory of osteoporosis
• Anorexia nervosa
• Low lifetime calcium intake
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Low testosterone levels in men
• An inactive lifestyle
• Current cigarette smoking; excessive use of alcohol
During National Osteoporosis Month,here are some
simple tips for better bone health:
Get ample amounts of calcium in your diet. Women
need anywhere between 800 -1,500 mg per day. Try add-
ing a glass of milk at lunch or a few pieces of broccoli at
dinner instead of depending solely on supplements.
Schedule time for physical activity each day. Even a
brisk walk will do the trick.
Vitamin D is essential for the body's absorption of
calcium.Without it,calciumpassesthrough the intestine
withoutbeing absorbed. Eatingvitamin Dfortified foods
can help; so can 20 minutes of sunshine daily.
Cut back on caffeine drinks (coffee, tea, soda), which
promote bone loss by interfering with absorption of
calcium.
Women over age 50 should consider getting a baseline
bone mineral density test, preferably aDEXA scan.Bone
mineral density tests are quick,painless and can be done
in aslittle as 10minutes. Many hospitalsand clinics offer
bone mineral density tests at little or no cost.
Ophthalmic Consultantsof Boston-Cape Cod
P
Doctor Michael Oats are holding a
isikandCKSeminar
Saturday, May 13th at 10 am
£
You can see both of the procedures performed from
start to finish ...all your questionswillfinally
be answered.
You'll meet Dr. Oats and hisentire refractiveteam
and get to experience these procedures first-hand.
Stop thinking about it, start doing it by
for reservations and directions.
RECEIVE 10% OFF IF YOU ATTEND
See life. livelife.
www.eyeboston.com 508.833.201 0
LETTERS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE A:7
Sit-in was pathetic
In response to the letter
from John Hopkins of Prov-
incetown who apparently
was arrested at an anti-war
protest in Hyannis, I have a
few words. First of all this
guy mentions in his letter
that he had to be dealt with
by the Barnstable police ,
court officers and jail per-
sonnel after his carcass was
taken out of Rep. Delahunt's
office.
As a taxpayer I think
Mr. Hopkins of Provinc-
etown owes the people of
Barnstable something for
tyingup our emergency first
responders and for creating
anuisance.Ithinkhe should
be sentenced to four weeks
or 160hours of haulingtrash
this Summer off Barnstable
beaches with no pay.Maybe
then he willlearn the value of
the dollars earned out here
in the real world by people
who don't have time to stage
pathetic "sit ins."
As for his hypothesis that
"madmen" have taken over
the United States, I have a
news flash for him. George
Bush will be our President
in 2006 , 2007 and 2008. If Mr
Hopkins doesn't like that
fact , he should register his
objections at the ballot box
in the upcoming elections
for candidates he deems not
to be "madmen."
Hopkins writesthat while
in jail he had time to reflect
on stories by Thoreau. Well,
isn't that dandy!Hopefully, a
wise ju dge gives him lots of
time to reflect on things and
then he can write more
letters to the Patriot from
Shawshank Prison with his
cellmates Andy and Red!
Scott Perkins
Barnstable
Feed a Body, Feed a
Mind
The PhiTheta Kappa (the
International Honor Society
of the Two-Year College)
chapter at Cape Cod Com-
munity College isrequesting
help from the community re-
gardingProject Graduation:
Feed a Body/Feed a Mind, a
nationwide effort .
1. Feed a Body. Our first
goal is to help the Harwich
FamilyFood Pantrythrough
community donation of at
least one non-perishable
food item per person. When
school lets out for the sum-
mer, the cost of food for
many families is increased.
Yourgenerous donation will
be greatly appreciated.
2.Feed aMind. Our second
goalisto help middle schools
throughout Cape Cod. We
are asking for at least one
new (or gently used) book
from each person for 10 to
14-year-olds , e.g., novels ,
series, adventure. Literacy
remains a persistent world-
wide problem. Please help
us make this struggle seem
a little bit less.
Drop-offlocations for your
donation:
Cape Cod CommunityCol-
lege: North Building, room
234 (top floor). 508-362-2131,
ext: 4371; Science Building
201 (top floor). 508-362-2131,
ext: 4363
CONTINUED ON PAGE B:5
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Cape Cod Rehabilitation & Jane Frost
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Our Swing Into Spring Golf Fitness Program Consists of:
r- !<• a J- <-t J-.- oi kiP 2 One Hour Group Lessons with
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c T J O.TT. J ¦ ton*F1"08*
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For 6 Weeks Including Unlimited I j ¦nmgmiu
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CLASSES, INSTRUCTION AND FREE ROUND ALL FOR $250!
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