In order to kind of help protect yourself from these fragility fractures it's kind of important to know your own risk factors. You know, talk to your family and see if you are at increased risk, and then to make some modifications. An exercise program is always good, especially with some small weight lifting which can help increase your bone mass by increasing that weight bearing and the stress across your bones. This helps your body’s natural response to lay down more bone mass. Another thing is that I encourage everyone at any age to begin taking a calcium and vitamin D supplement. I think that will greatly decrease your risk. There are a lot of studies that show up to 25 percent risk reduction and hip fractures in the elderly. And then I think it’s also important to have kind of a team approach to this. Speak to your family physician about this subject because it’s not one that's commonly talked about because it's a little bit lower on that radar scale, to see if you are taking appropriate medications or if you should get a DEXA Scan. You want to ensure that this is part of your yearly well women check or well person check.
