Senior Health: Osteoporosis doesn’t have a cure but treating this bone condition can help your senior to slow down bone loss and may help her to improve her bone density.

Being aware of the problem is the first step toward making any headway at all to obtain better senior health.

Starting to Exercise

One of the biggest ways to keep osteoporosis from becoming worse is to start an exercise program if that’s something that your senior’s doctor recommends for her. Weight-bearing exercise helps your elderly family member to build and to maintain muscle mass and helps with improving balance and coordination, which helps with fall prevention. Weight-bearing exercise also strengthens bones.

Boosting Nutrition

A poor diet can seriously hinder your senior’s ability to keep her bones strong. She needs to look carefully at how she’s eating now and what small changes she can make to give her a big boost in nutrition. Adding foods that are naturally high in protein, calcium, and vitamin D is going to be tremendously helpful.

Taking Supplements and Medications

If your senior’s doctor prescribes medications to help with bone density, your elderly family member should seriously consider them. Sometimes her doctor may also recommend supplements to boost her nutritional intake. This might be especially important if her diet has been consistently lacking in nutrition for a longer period of time.

Staying in Touch with Her Doctor

Once her doctor diagnoses your senior with osteoporosis, she needs to make sure that she follows up with regular checkups. This is especially important if your elderly family member is taking medication specifically for osteoporosis. Follow-up appointments may also include periodic bone density tests to see how your senior’s treatment plan is helping her.

Getting Serious about Fall Prevention

Fall prevention is extremely important for people with osteoporosis. Your elderly family member may need to consider using a walking aid in order to improve her stability. Also, do what you can to help her to reduce clutter and other tripping hazards in her home. It might even be a good idea to bring in elder care providers who are able to stay on top of those sorts of things for your senior.

Not every person with osteoporosis needs to follow each of these tips, but they may be able to help your elderly family member more than she expects that they will for good senior health. Ultimately, the important thing is that your senior is able to stay as healthy as possible and enjoy the quality of life that she wants to experience.