‘Love your bones – Protect your future’ -Theme 2017
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease manifested by decreased bone strength leading to an increased risk of fractures, or broken bones. Osteoporosis is the major underlying cause of fractures in postmenopausal women and the elderly. Fractures occur most often in bones of the hip, spine, and wrist, but any bone can be affected.
Osteoporosis is regularly called a “silent disease,” because it usually progresses without any symptoms until a fracture occurs or one or more vertebrae collapse. Collapsed vertebrae may first be felt or seen when a person develops severe back pain, loss of height, or spine malformations such as a stooped or hunched posture. Bones affected by osteoporosis may become so fragile that fractures occur spontaneously or as the result of minor bumps, falls, or normal stresses and strains such as bending, lifting, or even coughing.
World Osteoporosis Day:-20th October
History of World Osteoporosis Day
The thought for World Osteoporosis Day happened with a campaign launched by the United Kingdom’s National Osteoporosis Society and supported by European Commission on October 20, 1996. Since 1997, the day has been organized by International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). In 1998 and 1999, the World Health Organization acted as co-sponsor of World Osteoporosis Day. Since 1999, World Osteoporosis Day campaigns have introduced a specific theme.
Aim
Osteoporosis and fracture prevention are on the global health agenda, and the campaign reaches out to health-care professionals, the media, policy makers and the public at large.
Theme
The 2017 World Osteoporosis Day campaign will urge people to ‘Love your bones – Protect your future’
Target
- Promote worldwide awareness of osteoporosis and understanding of the heavy toll the disease can take on an individual’s future if left undiagnosed and untreated.
- Improve understanding of the link between osteoporosis and fractures – which can be a major cause of disability and early death in older adults.
- Encourage individuals to recognize risk factors, including first fractures, and to seek testing and treatment if required in order to protect their longer term future.
- Promote bone-healthy nutrition and exercise as essential to good bone health, as well as awareness of the role of calcium, good nutrition, and regular exercise during childhood and adolescence when bones are developing.
- Advocate for preventive care worldwide: enable healthcare professionals and health authorities to close the persistent ‘care gap’ by addressing critical issues such as under-diagnosis and under-treatment, lack of Fracture Liaison Services to systematically identify and treat high risk patients, and poor adherence to treatment.
How can you be involved in celebrating World Osteoporosis Day?
- Love Your Bones
- Align your plans with World Osteoporosis Day
- Wear White for World Osteoporosis Day
- Reach out to decision makers and advocate for bone-healthy policies
- Find out what your local osteoporosis organization is doing on WOD and get involved
- Distribute World Osteoporosis Day material amongst your networks
- Set up a Fracture Liaison Service or advocate for its implementation in your local hospital
- Put together a media campaign to help educate people
- Publish an article on your website and link to it from your social media channels
- If you are a nurse, other health-care worker celebrate World Osteoporosis Day within your local hospital and make people aware of how they can prevent fractures
- Organize a bone-healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner
- Order some fruit and dairy products such as yogurt for the workplace
- Run an educational seminar on bone-health nutrition for the general public
- Hold cook-a-long events and demonstrate how to prepare calcium-rich meals
- Launch a social media campaign
- Organize a fundraising event
- Advocate for your government to make bone, muscle and joint health a priority and help capture the Fracture.
Reference
https://medlineplus.gov/osteoporosis.html
https://www.bones.nih.gov/health-info/bone/osteoporosis/osteoporosis-hoh
https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/world-osteoporosis-day-2017