Hello, class!  This week's lecture is going to focus on a little osteoporosis education.  Hold on, buster!!  If you think you should now move on to the next page of this newspaper because you are not female and you are not old . . . read on!

Now . . . go figure!  Take off your shoes, stand flush against a wall and have someone mark a point on the wall even with the top of your head.  After you're finished measuring your height, compare that figure with how tall you "thought" you were.  If you've lost some height, you are a suspect for osteoporosis.

Did you know that your optimal bone mass occurs during young adulthood (generally age 30-35)?  In other words, by that time your bones are finished "building" . . . and 90-98% of that "building" is completed before age 20!!  Once all the building is done, it's up to you to see that the break down in the strength of your bones is minimized.

Osteoporosis can happen silently, sometimes without pain or realized fractures of the vertebrae of your spine.  That is why, when people tell me they are 5'8" tall but I find myself looking down on them from my 5'5" frame . . . we go figure!  People are astonished to find they have lost inches without realizing it . . . though they wondered why their pants were dragging on the floor (a physical therapist's take on the new American Idol top hit, "Pants on the Ground!")

To learn more about bone health, call Alliance Physical Therapy today . . . or visit our website.

Yours in health,

Karen