Medical Monday Osteoporosis preventions and treatments

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) - Osteoporosis is a condition where your bones are weak and brittle. According to Dr. Wendy Boucher, Orthopedic Surgeon at Northern Light AR Gould Hospital while a few different things can lead to this happening, there is a deficiency a lot of us in Northern Maine have, that can lead to osteoporosis.

Dr. Boucher says, “Making sure you have a sufficient amount of vitamin D3. D3 is the activated form of vitamin D. Vitamin D alone is not sufficient because it requires the sunlight to activate it, and that’s why we tend to be deficient here in the northern latitudes. There’s just not enough sun throughout the year to adequately supply the vitamin D3.”

Dr. Boucher also recommends weight bearing exercises to help maintain proper and healthy bone density. Osteoporosis is a condition even when corrected you will still have it.. Dr. Boucher says there are ways to manage it. “When you’re diagnosed we do some lab work to ensure you have osteoporosis associated with post menopausal or other non hormonal related issues. So we check your thyroid and your parathyroid and other bloodwork. Once we’ve determined that’s not the issue than we’ll do different medications. There are medications that can stop the loss of bone. There are medications that can help promote the growth of bone. There are many many different types of medications. So we really try to tailor it to what the patient can tolerate best.”

If you are unsure of your Vitamin D3 levels or you have any concerns about osteoporosis contact your primary care physician.

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