When country music star Loretta Lynn fell at her home on New Year’s Day, she joined 300,000 other Americans who annually take a tumble and break a hip.
The beloved “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” who is 85 (and still singing!), is said to be recovering, starting rehab, and in good spirits.
Fortunately, she’s surrounded by loved ones to support her, and her fame affords her the opportunity to get the best care there is.
But where many seniors are concerned, a broken hip can be far more devastating. And although the reports we’re hearing on Lynn all sound promising, the numbers aren’t on her side, because hip fractures are in a class all their own!
So, if you want to tilt the odds in favor of staying out of a nursing home or rehab facility, there are some very important steps you need to take immediately!
‘An insult to the system’
Jay Magaziner, head of the department of public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, says that a hip fracture is “an insult to the system” that “changes many metabolic functions.”
And some recent research confirms that by providing these sobering statistics: Up to 30 percent of seniors who suffer a hip fracture will die within a year, and two-thirds of the lucky ones who survive will still need help with basic activities like using the bathroom a whole year later.
But I’m sure you don’t need to be told how loss of mobility can affect your quality of life after a certain age. As Magaziner adds, “There is something about this kind of injury that amplifies things.”
Whatever that “something” might be, you want to do everything in your power to avoid it! And that starts with asking yourself these two basic questions:
#1: Are your bones strong enough to withstand some bumps without easily breaking?
#2: Might something you’re taking literally serve as the tipping point for a bad fall?
We all know how often kids take spills. But typically, despite a whole lot of crying, they walk away relatively unscathed. But for adults — especially seniors — it’s a whole different story.
We can’t “shake it off” quite so easily.
That’s why you need to be sure that you “bone up” on taking good care of the bones that protect you from head to toe and hold your body upright! And that doesn’t mean asking your doctor about one of those osteoporosis meds.
Last year, I told you about some new research out of Greece that found that bisphosphonate meds (like Fosamax, Boniva, and Reclast) can actually cause micro cracks in your bones, making them more prone to break.
These drugs have also been linked to “odd fractures” (said to be “nearly straight breaks across the thigh bone”) caused by “very slight falls.” Unbelievably, Prolia, the terribly risky med hyped by actress Blythe Danner, says right on its (long) warning label that side effects include “increased risk of broken bones.”
That’s like trying to put out a fire with gasoline!
Instead of such risky meds, however, you should be taking a daily vitamin D supplement to keep your bones strong. But don’t just stop there, because a vitamin K supplement (made from natto or nattokinase) works synergistically with D to protect bones. And adding K is especially important if you’re taking calcium to make sure it gets to your bones rather than your arteries!
Another bonanza for your bones is the mighty mineral magnesium.
Some recent research has found that those with the lowest blood levels of magnesium were much more prone to fractures of the hip, and that men with higher levels of the mineral could slash their risk of suffering a bad break by a giant 44 percent!
But sometimes, even if you’re as strong as can be, a nasty fall will take its toll. That’s why the best defense against a broken hip is to not fall in the first place.
And a very good way to prevent that is to steer clear of meds that can make you wobblier than a drunken sailor!
These include anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants, sleeping pills (including Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata, the effects of which can carry over well into the next day), and any drug that can cause a big drop in blood pressure, especially when you stand up.
Blood pressure meds, obviously, are in that category, but so are prostate drugs like Flomax.
And if you’re taking any diabetes meds to lower your blood sugar, be sure to keep a close watch on your readings and don’t skip meals. A sudden drop in blood sugar can cause you to become dizzy, too.
While we’re all praying for the First Lady of Country Music to get back on her feet again, we need to do everything in our power not to become victims of similar “bad breaks.”
“Country icon Loretta Lynn has a fractured hip after fall” Associated Press, January 8, 2018, businessinsider.com
