The correlation between calcium and good bone health is one that most people are well aware of. We were all told as children to “drink your milk” because it was good for our bones. However, what is not so well known is the role of Vitamin D in getting calcium into the bones.
Vitamin D is necessary for the intestine to absorb calcium. When Vitamin D levels are low, only 10-15% of our dietary calcium gets absorbed.
Our best resource of Vitamin D is the sun. In the Northeast, we do not have sufficient sunshine to adequately supply the UV rays required by the body to make Vitamin D. This leads to higher numbers of people with Vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency in the Northeast when compared to those who live in the South.
Vitamin D can be found in some foods such as beef liver, egg yolks, fish, and fortified milk but not in high enough amounts to meet the recommended daily allowance. Therefore if you live in the Northeast, supplementation of Vitamin D most of the year is required to keep Vitamin D at levels required to get calcium adequately absorbed by the intestine and keep your bones healthy.
Come back next month to find out ways to get the Vitamin D you need to ensure good bone health!
Kame McAuliffe PA-C
New Hampshire NeuroSpine Institute
Friday, September 6, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
“Own the Bone” Provides clinics and hospitals with a Tool to Address Growing Major Health Crisis
NH NeuroSpine Institute announced today that it has implemented the American Orthopaedic Association’s Own the Bone® Program. The program is aimed to better identify, evaluate and treat patients that suffer from an osteoporosis or low bone density-related fragility fracture (a broken bone that results from a fall from standing height or less). The program brings focus to the severe health implications of fragility fractures and the multi-faceted approach hospitals or clinics can employ to ensure these patients receive the most comprehensive care.
As the “First in the State of New Hampshire” to implement this vital program, New Hampshire NeuroSpine Institute plays an important role as a leader in New Hampshire and nationally in providing improved patient care in bone health.
Statistics surrounding fragility fractures are alarming! According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), up to 50% of all women and 25% of men over the age of 50 years will sustain fragility fractures in their remaining lifetime. The American Bone Health Prevalence Report states that more people in the United States suffer a fragility fracture each year than are diagnosed with a heart attack (MI), stroke or breast cancer combined and is projected to significantly increase as the population ages. Studies show that patients who have had a fragility fracture are two to four times more likely to experience another fracture than those who have never had a fracture. That is, once a patient experiences a fracture, they are very likely to get another one.
According to the National Committee for Quality Assurance, only 1 in 5 Medicare patients have received the osteoporosis care they needed after a fracture. The Own the Bone Program is a national Web-based quality improvement registry that incorporates 10 measures for reducing future fractures and provides NH NeuroSpine Institute with immediate feedback on program performance to measure NH NeuroSpine Institute’s success and helps benchmark our institution against other institutions. With Own the Bone, NH NeuroSpine Institute reduces this huge treatment gap and ensures that our patients with fragility fractures are screened and appropriately treated for low bone density or osteoporosis.
Kame McAuliffe, PA a leader at the NH NeuroSpine Institute Comprehensive Bone Health Clinic says, “I am extremely excited to be a part of NH NeuroSpine Institute’s Comprehensive Bone Health Clinic. Ensuring comprehensive care of our patient’s overall bone health so that we may better treat current fractures and prevent future fractures is of utmost importance to us here at NH Neurospine Institute. I am also incredibly honored to have the NHNSI Comprehensive Bone Health Clinic recognized by the American Orthopedic Association as the first “Own the Bone” Osteoporosis and Fracture prevention Program in the state of New Hampshire. We are taking the initiative and teaming up with our local healthcare providers to not only treat our patient’s fractures but to address the underlying cause of our patient’s poor bone health.”
By simply entering information in the Web-based data registry, results can be immediately quantified and health care providers can begin to see how our actions are positively affecting patient care. The program is able to produce internal and external benchmarking results that reflect how NH NeuroSpine Institutes patients are being positively affected by Own the Bone.
“A comprehensive, multi-specialty approach will greatly reduce repeat fragility fractures for at-risk patients,” said Douglas R. Dirschl, The American Orthopaedic Association’s 1st Past President. “Own the Bone gives hospitals and clinics the tools needed to address and curb this major health crisis.”
# # #
NH NeuroSpine Institute’s Comprehensive Bone Health Clinic operates at the Bedford, NH facility. The program offers a team approach to dealing with fracture prevention and the healing of acute fractures by finding the underlying cause and treating it to help patients have stronger bones for a stronger life.
As the “First in the State of New Hampshire” to implement this vital program, New Hampshire NeuroSpine Institute plays an important role as a leader in New Hampshire and nationally in providing improved patient care in bone health.
Statistics surrounding fragility fractures are alarming! According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), up to 50% of all women and 25% of men over the age of 50 years will sustain fragility fractures in their remaining lifetime. The American Bone Health Prevalence Report states that more people in the United States suffer a fragility fracture each year than are diagnosed with a heart attack (MI), stroke or breast cancer combined and is projected to significantly increase as the population ages. Studies show that patients who have had a fragility fracture are two to four times more likely to experience another fracture than those who have never had a fracture. That is, once a patient experiences a fracture, they are very likely to get another one.
According to the National Committee for Quality Assurance, only 1 in 5 Medicare patients have received the osteoporosis care they needed after a fracture. The Own the Bone Program is a national Web-based quality improvement registry that incorporates 10 measures for reducing future fractures and provides NH NeuroSpine Institute with immediate feedback on program performance to measure NH NeuroSpine Institute’s success and helps benchmark our institution against other institutions. With Own the Bone, NH NeuroSpine Institute reduces this huge treatment gap and ensures that our patients with fragility fractures are screened and appropriately treated for low bone density or osteoporosis.
Kame McAuliffe, PA a leader at the NH NeuroSpine Institute Comprehensive Bone Health Clinic says, “I am extremely excited to be a part of NH NeuroSpine Institute’s Comprehensive Bone Health Clinic. Ensuring comprehensive care of our patient’s overall bone health so that we may better treat current fractures and prevent future fractures is of utmost importance to us here at NH Neurospine Institute. I am also incredibly honored to have the NHNSI Comprehensive Bone Health Clinic recognized by the American Orthopedic Association as the first “Own the Bone” Osteoporosis and Fracture prevention Program in the state of New Hampshire. We are taking the initiative and teaming up with our local healthcare providers to not only treat our patient’s fractures but to address the underlying cause of our patient’s poor bone health.”
By simply entering information in the Web-based data registry, results can be immediately quantified and health care providers can begin to see how our actions are positively affecting patient care. The program is able to produce internal and external benchmarking results that reflect how NH NeuroSpine Institutes patients are being positively affected by Own the Bone.
“A comprehensive, multi-specialty approach will greatly reduce repeat fragility fractures for at-risk patients,” said Douglas R. Dirschl, The American Orthopaedic Association’s 1st Past President. “Own the Bone gives hospitals and clinics the tools needed to address and curb this major health crisis.”
# # #
NH NeuroSpine Institute’s Comprehensive Bone Health Clinic operates at the Bedford, NH facility. The program offers a team approach to dealing with fracture prevention and the healing of acute fractures by finding the underlying cause and treating it to help patients have stronger bones for a stronger life.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
In response
In response to the recent report of potentially contaminated medications used for steroid injections in Tennessee, NH NeuroSpine institute would like reassure its patients that we do not order compounded steroids from a specialty pharmacy and do not EVER use compounded steroids for our injections. The steroids used are ordered directly from the manufacturer and are not opened until prepping for the injection. Please call with any questions or concerns to (603) 472-8888.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Laura Humen, PA-C
We are pleased to announce the newest addition to the NHNSI Neurosurgery team- Laura Humen, PA-C. We were fortunate to have Laura complete a specialty rotation with uswhile completing her Master’s Degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She will join us in a permanent position on May 20th, 2013. Join us in welcoming Laura to the NeuroSpine family.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
The Benefits of Pilates in Spine Care
Pilates works from muscles deeper within the body toward the outside muscle groups. By working from the inside out, you develop a greater understanding of the body. Smaller muscle groups come into use, and you begin to discover muscles you never knew you had. The Pilates method also helps you develop a control that is useful for performing a range of movements- from the simplest, such as walking up a flight of stairs, to the most complex, such as lifting an awkward loadfrom a difficult position without straining your back, shoulders or other muscles.
Pilates is a mind-body centering technique that emphasizes the importance of beginning movement to form a central core of stability. Pilates is a safe, no-impact exercise routine that stretches and strengthens all the major muscle groups in a logical sequence, without neglecting the smaller, weaker muscles. It is taught in two categories, matwork and machine based work. Both are taught in many formats and are tailor-made for individuals following an assessment. Matwork consists of 34 original Pilates exercises performed on the “mat” that are designed to promote core stability, flexibility, endurance, postural and body awareness and to correct muscle imbalances. Machine based Pilates takes the concepts of matwork into spring loaded resistance machines.
Pilates is based on the following eight principles:
1. Breathing
2. Concentration
3. Control
4. Centering
5. Precision
6. Flow
7. Integrated isolation
8. Routine/Repetition
The repertoire of APPI Pilates exercises focuses to improve spinal mobility, flexibility of the key trunk and lower limb muscles groups, body awareness and postural awareness. Thus, allowing me to incorporate Pilates as a form of physical therapy for patients that I am seeing whom suffer back and neck pain. Roughly five years ago, I started my Pilates journey by taking classes and courses to educate myself about the process. Pilates is more than an exercise routine for me. It is a way of moving throughout the day. For more information about the NH NeuroSpine Institute’s use of Pilates, please call us at (603) 472-8888.
Nicole Feinauer, PTA
New Hampshire NeuroSpine Institute
Thursday, April 18, 2013
May is Osteoporosis Month
If you are a female over 50 years old, take a moment to ponder something...You have a 50% chance of breaking a bone.
Yes, that’s right. One out of every 2 women in the United States who are over 50 years old will suffer a fracture. For the men reading this article, the risks are not much better… one out of every 5 men over 50 will suffer a fracture.
It is because of the “silent disease” known as OSTEOPOROSIS.
Literally, osteoporosis means “porous bones.” Osteoporosis is a slow, insidious disease that progressively decreases the strength of your bones by reabsorbing your bone faster than you can create new bone. This results in a painless loss of bone density that eventually leads to an inability of your bones to withstand any insult or trauma!
Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease in humans. There is an estimated 44 million people living in the United States with either low bone mass or osteoporosis. Studies estimate that by 2020, over half the population of the United States will be effected by this disease. Osteoporosis-related fractures are responsible for over 430,000 hospital admission, 2.5 million doctor office visits, and 180,000 nursing home admissions a year. In 2005, the estimated cost of osteoporosis to the health-care system was $17 billion and is expected to double or even triple by 2040.
Osteoporosis is serious and unfortunately surrounded by many myths. For example, do you think you are supposed to loss height or “shrink” as you age? Do you think taking extra calcium is going to prevent this disease from occurring? Do you think osteoporosis is a disease that only elderly women need to worry about?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, you need to think again!
“Shrinking” is not normal! A historical height loss of over 1 ½ inches or a documented height loss of 0.8 inches is an indication your bones may be weakening and screening for osteoporosis is necessary.
The recommended daily intake of calcium is 1000-1200mg. Getting the majority of your daily calcium through your foods is best and is utilized more efficiently by your body. If you cannot get the recommended amounts of calcium through food, supplements are important. However, taking more calcium does not give you any added bone strength but may instead cause other medical issues like kidney stones, calcification of the blood vessels, and other serious health problems.
Osteoporosis is not just a disease of the elderly. Osteoporosis can affect the young and old! While it is more commonly seen after menopause, there are other secondary causes of osteoporosis that can present at any age. Examples include, Celiac Disease and other malabsorption issues, vitamin D deficiency, thyroid disease, eating disorders, alcohol abuse, chronic steroid use…the list goes on!
If you are over 50 and concerned about your bone health – talk to a health care provider – especially if you have suffered a fracture! If you are post-menopausal or over the age of 65, you need to be screened for osteoporosis whether you have had a fracture or not. Don’t let your first indication of poor bone health be a painful or possibly debilitating fracture!
Here at NH NeuroSpine Institute, we offer a unique clinic that is designed for patients who suffer from osteoporosis, are over 65 or have suffered from a fracture. We can help reduce the risk of further fractures or help to slow the process of bone loss. Prevention is the key to good health! Call us for your bone screening today.
Happy National Osteoporosis Awareness Month from NH Neurospine Institute.
Yes, that’s right. One out of every 2 women in the United States who are over 50 years old will suffer a fracture. For the men reading this article, the risks are not much better… one out of every 5 men over 50 will suffer a fracture.
It is because of the “silent disease” known as OSTEOPOROSIS.
Literally, osteoporosis means “porous bones.” Osteoporosis is a slow, insidious disease that progressively decreases the strength of your bones by reabsorbing your bone faster than you can create new bone. This results in a painless loss of bone density that eventually leads to an inability of your bones to withstand any insult or trauma!
Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease in humans. There is an estimated 44 million people living in the United States with either low bone mass or osteoporosis. Studies estimate that by 2020, over half the population of the United States will be effected by this disease. Osteoporosis-related fractures are responsible for over 430,000 hospital admission, 2.5 million doctor office visits, and 180,000 nursing home admissions a year. In 2005, the estimated cost of osteoporosis to the health-care system was $17 billion and is expected to double or even triple by 2040.
Osteoporosis is serious and unfortunately surrounded by many myths. For example, do you think you are supposed to loss height or “shrink” as you age? Do you think taking extra calcium is going to prevent this disease from occurring? Do you think osteoporosis is a disease that only elderly women need to worry about?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, you need to think again!
“Shrinking” is not normal! A historical height loss of over 1 ½ inches or a documented height loss of 0.8 inches is an indication your bones may be weakening and screening for osteoporosis is necessary.
The recommended daily intake of calcium is 1000-1200mg. Getting the majority of your daily calcium through your foods is best and is utilized more efficiently by your body. If you cannot get the recommended amounts of calcium through food, supplements are important. However, taking more calcium does not give you any added bone strength but may instead cause other medical issues like kidney stones, calcification of the blood vessels, and other serious health problems.
Osteoporosis is not just a disease of the elderly. Osteoporosis can affect the young and old! While it is more commonly seen after menopause, there are other secondary causes of osteoporosis that can present at any age. Examples include, Celiac Disease and other malabsorption issues, vitamin D deficiency, thyroid disease, eating disorders, alcohol abuse, chronic steroid use…the list goes on!
If you are over 50 and concerned about your bone health – talk to a health care provider – especially if you have suffered a fracture! If you are post-menopausal or over the age of 65, you need to be screened for osteoporosis whether you have had a fracture or not. Don’t let your first indication of poor bone health be a painful or possibly debilitating fracture!
Here at NH NeuroSpine Institute, we offer a unique clinic that is designed for patients who suffer from osteoporosis, are over 65 or have suffered from a fracture. We can help reduce the risk of further fractures or help to slow the process of bone loss. Prevention is the key to good health! Call us for your bone screening today.
Happy National Osteoporosis Awareness Month from NH Neurospine Institute.
Friday, April 5, 2013
The NH NeuroSpine Institute Welcomed Osamu Shirado, MD, PhD
The NH NeuroSpine Institute welcomed Osamu Shirado, MD, PhD who visited from Japan to observe Thomas J. Kleeman, MD of the NHNSI, perform a less invasive back surgery that reduces a patient's medical costs, length of hospital stay and recovery time. He will introduce these surgical techniques in Japan. The NHNSI is proud to showcase our cutting edge work that is attracting surgeons nationally and internally to learn from our providers.
To read more about this story, click the link below: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130405/NEWS12/130409480
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)