Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bones to the point where they break easily—most often, bones in the hip, backbone (spine), and wrist. Osteoporosis is called a “silent disease” because you may not notice any changes until a bone breaks. All the while, though, your bones had been losing strength for many years.

Bone is living tissue. To keep bones strong, your body breaks down old bone and replaces it with new bone tissue. Sometime around age 30, bone mass stops increasing, and the goal for bone health is to keep as much bone as possible for as long as you can. As people enter their 40s and 50s, more bone may be broken down than is replaced.

Although osteoporosis can strike at any age, it is most common among older people, especially older women. Men also have this disease. White and Asian women are most likely to have osteoporosis. Other women at great risk include those who:

• Have a family history of broken bones or osteoporosis
• Have broken a bone after age 50
• Had surgery to remove their ovaries before their periods stopped
• Had early menopause
• Have not gotten enough calcium and/or vitamin D throughout their lives
• Had extended bed rest or were physically inactive
• Smoke (smokers may absorb less calcium from their diets)
• Take certain medications, including medicines for arthritis and asthma and some cancer drugs
• Used certain medicines for a long time
• Have a small body frame

The risk of osteoporosis grows as you get older. At the time of menopause, women may lose bone quickly for several years. After that, the loss slows down but continues. In men, the loss of bone mass is slower. But, by age 65 or 70, men and women are losing bone at the same rate.

Whether your doctor calls it osteopenia or low bone mass, consider it a warning. Bone loss has started, but you can still take action to keep your bones strong and maybe prevent osteoporosis later in life.

For some people, the first sign of osteoporosis is to realize they are getting shorter or to break a bone easily. Don’t wait until that happens to see if you have osteoporosis. You can have a bone density test to find out how strong your bones are.

The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force recommends that women aged 65 and older be screened (tested) for osteoporosis, as well as women under age 65 who are at increased risk for an osteoporosis-related fracture.

There are things you should do at any age to prevent weakened bones. Eating foods that are rich in calcium and vitamin D is important. So is regular weight-bearing exercise, such as weight training, walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, tennis, and dancing.

If you have osteoporosis, avoid activities that involve twisting your spine or bending forward from the waist, such as conventional sit-ups, toe touches, or swinging a golf club. Learn how to exercise safety with Go4Life, the exercise and physical activity campaign from the National Institute on Aging.

But, lifestyle changes may not be enough if you have lost a lot of bone density. There are also several medicines to think about. Some will slow your bone loss, and others can help rebuild bone. Talk with your doctor to see if medicines might work to treat your osteoporosis.

For more information about osteoporosis, visit the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

For More Information on Osteoporosis

National Institutes of Health Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center
1-800-624-2663 (toll-free)
1-202-466-4315 (TTY)
[email protected]
www.bones.nih.gov

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
1-877-226-4267 (toll-free)
1-301-565-2966 (TTY)
[email protected]
www.niams.nih.gov

National Osteoporosis Foundation
1-800-231-4222 (toll-free)
[email protected]
www.nof.org

Use these tips from NCOA and the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement to protect yourself or an older adult you know.

Be aware that you are at risk from strangers—and from those closest to you.

Over 90% of all reported elder abuse is committed by the older person’s own family members, most often their adult children, followed by grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and others. Common tactics include depleting a joint checking account, promising but not delivering care in exchange for money or property, outright theft, and other forms of abuse, including physical abuse, threats, intimidation, and neglect of basic care needs.

Always tell solicitors: “I never buy from (or give to) anyone who calls or visits me unannounced. Send me something in writing.” Don’t buy from an unfamiliar company and always ask for and wait until you receive written material about any offer or charity.

It’s also good practice to obtain a salesperson’s name, business identity, telephone number, street address, mailing address, and business license number before you transact business. And always take your time in making a decision.

Identity theft is a huge business. To protect yourself, invest in—and use—a paper shredder. Monitor your bank and credit card statements and never give out personal information over the phone to someone who initiates the contact with you.

Visit Do Not Call to stop telemarketers from contacting you.

Be careful with your mail. Do not let incoming mail sit in your mailbox for a long time. When sending out sensitive mail, consider dropping it off at a secure collection box or directly at the post office.

To get more tips on protecting yourself from fraud, visit On Guard Online, which has interactive games to help you be a smarter consumer on issues related to spyware, lottery scams, and other swindles.

Use direct deposit for benefit checks to prevent checks from being stolen from the mailbox

Using direct deposit ensures that checks go right into your accounts and are protected. Clever scammers or even scrupulous loved ones have been known to steal benefits checks right out of mailboxes or from seniors’ homes if they are laying around.

Never give your credit card, banking, Social Security, Medicare, or other personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call

Misuse of Medicare dollars is one of the largest scams involving seniors. Common schemes include billing for services never delivered and selling unneeded devices or services to beneficiaries. Protect your Medicare number as you do your credit card, banking, and Social Security numbers and do not allow anyone else to use it. Be wary of salespeople trying to sell you something they claim will be paid for by Medicare.

Review your Medicare statements to be sure you have in fact received the services billed, and report suspicious activities to 1-800-MEDICARE.

Be skeptical of all unsolicited offers and thoroughly do your research

RSVP will offer volunteer instructor training in June for a senior Tai Chi program, providing active retirees a way to serve their community through teaching classes while also improving their own balance and staying fit.

The two-day training with the Master Trainer for Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, June 8 and 9, in Camarillo. Volunteers must practice at least 30 hours before being certified to teach; often those trained practice together for support. Certified instructors teach at one of the free 12-week classes held in the four west county cities served by the Oxnard RSVP.

Attendance at quarterly in-services will be required. No experience is necessary, but volunteers must be age 55 or older and make a six-month commitment to teach three hours per week. Since instructors work as teams, time away for illness or short vacations is possible.

For more information on the instructor training or to register to be trained as an instructor, please call 385-8023.

A federal grant received by the City of Oxnard and its RSVP program funds the free exercise classes, which follow curriculum developed at the Oregon Research Institute where studies showed improved strength and balance, increased mobility and reduced incidence of falls among seniors who participated in the classes.

Classes consist of a core eight-form routine of Yang-style Tai Chi with built-in exercise variations. It teaches participants balance skills and good body alignment by using coordinated and flowing movements. The classes are intended for adults age 60 and older who can walk easily with or without assistive devices.

RSVP is a volunteer recruitment and placement program, helping people 55 and older find volunteer positions that match their interests, talent and available time. The Oxnard RSVP has almost 575 members and is sponsored by the City of Oxnard. To learn more about being an RSVP member or to discuss other volunteer opportunities, call 385-8023.

On May 30 from 10am – 12pm, the Ventura Family YMCA hosts Senior Health and Fitness Day in celebration of Older Americans Month. The event is free, open to the community and will take place in the outdoor sportsplex. A free lunch is provided.

Dr. Dial, former Director of the Family Practice Residency at the Ventura County Medical Center, will speak at the event about the importance of staying active throughout life. For more information on this event, contact Rejeana Mira at [email protected] or 642.2131 x16.

May is Older Americans Month and the Ventura Family YMCA is emphasizing the importance of being active and involved, no matter where you are in life. Ventura residents are encouraged to “Engage at Every Age,” developing behaviors that are crucial to healthy aging, including healthy eating, increasing physical activity and social interaction—especially those adults over 50.

Adults 50 years and older currently make up more than 30 percent of the U.S. population, and will soon represent 45 percent of all Americans. Here in Ventura, adults 50 and older make up at least 28 percent of the population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that adults 50 and older have a 70 percent chance of developing at least one chronic disease. While these numbers seem daunting, the good news is that making small lifestyle changes that include increasing physical activity, eating healthier and staying active socially can help older adults live better.

“There is no age limit to what you can do to maintain your physical wellbeing. At the Y, there is a wide range of programs suited to fit your needs and goals. The Ventura YMCA is committed to supporting you on your journey no matter how big or small,” said Sherry Maresca, Health and Wellness Director, Ventura Family YMCA.

For 55 years, Older Americans Month (OAM) has been observed to recognize older Americans and their contributions to our communities. Led by the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Aging, every May offers opportunity to hear from, support, and celebrate our nation’s elders.

by National Institute on Aging

The decline of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, learning and reasoning—involves a complicated mix of different disease processes in the brain. A study by NIA-funded researchers has shown that common brain diseases often overlap but impact cognitive impairment differently for different people. The findings, published online Dec. 15, 2017 in the journal Annals of Neurology, the authors say, point to the importance of developing therapies that seek to treat the broader complexity of cognitive decline.

A research team from the NIA-funded Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Chicago, looked at cases of more than 1,000 older people who took detailed cognitive tests annually for many years and whose brains were donated and examined after death. The researchers measured nine disease characteristics in the brain, called neuropathologies, known to relate to cognitive decline and dementia. The neuropathologies included plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease and indicators of Lewy body dementia, a disease associated with abnormal deposits in the brain of a protein called alpha-synuclein.

The researchers found that over 94 percent of the participants had at least one known neuropathology. Dr. Patricia Boyle, Professor at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, who led the study, explained that of those participants who had at least one neuropathology, 78 percent had two or more, 58 percent had three or more, and 35 percent had four or more. The researchers were surprised to find nearly 250 unique combinations of neuropathologies. “And there’s not a particularly common pattern,” Boyle noted.

The study also evaluated the nine neuropathologies for their relative impact on cognition. For example, the study found that neuropathologies associated with Alzheimer’s disease were both the most frequent (65 percent) and the most often associated with cognitive decline (about 50 percent on average). But, the degree to which Alzheimer’s disease neuropathologies contributed to cognitive changes varied greatly from person to person—with anywhere from 20 to 100 percent of the cognitive change accounted for by Alzheimer’s disease neuropathologies, depending on the others that were present. In other words, the impact of any given neuropathology differed dramatically depending on the other neuropathologies present.

While the sample in this study differs slightly from the general population, Boyle explained that the results build on earlier studies. “Most people who live to be in their 80s will have some combination of neuropathologies in the brain,” she said. “We need to understand how these neuropathologies work together to impair cognition in order to develop effective interventions to prevent cognitive decline in old age. We looked at the nine neuropathologies that we currently quantify in the brain, but there are others that we are just beginning to study and some we probably haven’t identified yet,” she added.

In addition to helping advance understanding of the complex brain changes that can happen in aging, this study demonstrates the importance of volunteers both participating in research over many years and donating their brains. This research used the infrastructure available across the country at the Alzheimer’s Disease Centers to generate knowledge that is a necessary step to eventually developing treatments.

In recognition of National Stroke Awareness Month in May, Community Memorial Health System encourages people to better understand the risk factors and symptoms of stroke, a leading cause of death and serious long-term disability in the United States. Not many people know that for stroke sufferers, the idea of life insurance is one worth looking into. For some people, having a stroke leaves them unable to function like they used to, which can eventually take a tole on the individual’s everyday life. You may soon realise that your medical bill is very high and you are unable to pay for it, even though you never asked for this condition. But on a positive note, by having a look into sites like https://www.moneyexpert.com/life-insurance/, it is made even more clear how life insurance can benefit anyone who has suffered from a condition like a stroke or may be struggling to get their finances together to pay for existing medical bills. There is always a solution for any problem. You’ll eventually start to get your life back together.

National Stroke Awareness Month each May seeks to educate people about stokes and how to prevent them. According to the American Stroke Association, approximately 795,000 Americans have a stroke each year. Leading a healthy lifestyle and lowering risk factors can help reduce the risk of a stroke. Eighty percent of strokes are preventable. Recognizing symptoms is critical to treating strokes and possibly preventing or reducing disability, said Stephanie Lara-Jenkins, RN, Stroke Coordinator at CMHS.

“Time is crucial in the treatment of a stroke because the earlier a stroke is recognized and the patient receives medical attention, the greater the chance of recovery,” she said. “We have the potential for reversing your stroke or mitigating your disability from a stroke if you get treatment right away.”

Strokes occur when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and vital nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or ruptures. When this happens, part of the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen, destroying millions of valuable nerve cells within minutes.

Symptoms of stroke (sudden and sustained) are: numbness and/or weakness on one side of the body; numbness or weakness of an arm or leg; slurred speech, trouble speaking or the inability to speak; changes in vision including blurred vision, double vision or vision loss; dizziness and/or loss of coordination; and lightheadedness or feeling faint.

Stroke risk factors are: high blood pressure (see your doctor to control your blood pressure if it’s higher than 130 over 80); atrial fibrillation (an irregular heart rhythm); high cholesterol; heart disease; diabetes; smoking; heavy alcohol use; physical inactivity; obesity; a family history of stroke; and depression.

With this in mind, it is so important to find ways of managing stress. Relaxing and exploring new ways of coping with your problems can help to lower high blood pressure. One solution to combat stress that everyone seems to be talking about nowadays is CBD oil. So, does cbd oil lower blood pressure? Well, there is research to suggest that the stress and anxiety-reducing properties of CBD products can indeed lower your blood pressure. If natural remedies like this interest you, be sure to do plenty of research into the potential health-boosting benefits of CBD for more information.

CMHS offers a free, confidential online StrokeAware Risk Assessment for those seeking to determine their risk. This free online tool takes about seven minutes to complete. The StrokeAware assessment will provide participants with a personalized risk assessment report written by a CMH nurse practitioner that will help them learn about their risk and identify any medical or lifestyle factors that may cause a stroke. The StrokeAware Risk Assessment can be taken by visiting https://ha.healthawareservices.com/ra/survey/766.

Local comedian Randy Lubas entertains the crowd at Cypress Place Senior Living on Wednesday April 11. He was the keynote speaker for the annual Health & Wealth Expo held at the senior community. The theme for the expo this year, it’s tenth, was “Laughter Is The Best Medicine.”

by Rick Beavin, California Medicare President for Humana

What is happening

To combat identity theft, CMS will be changing the format of all Medicare numbers, which means that every existing Medicare beneficiary will get an updated Medicare Card that lists their new Medicare number.

What is changing

Instead of being based on a beneficiary’s Social Security number, each Medicare number will be an individually generated combination of letters and numbers.

The new card is paper, which is easier for providers to use and copy.

Why is this happening

Removing the SSN from Medicare cards will help fight identity theft for people with Medicare. In doing so, CMS aims to better protect:

Private health care and financial information

Federal health care benefit and service payments

When is this happening

All Medicare cards will be replaced between April 2018 and April 2019. California residents will be among the first to receive theirs between April and June this year.

This will be a long process because CMS will be issuing approximately 60 million new ID cards.

Until the new card is received, continue using your current ID card. Once the new card is received, begin using it immediately. Beginning January 1, 2020, only the new card will be usable.

Who will be impacted

New cards will be generated for all active existing and new Medicare beneficiaries. Each beneficiary will have a unique number (e.g., husband and wife will have their own).

What does this mean for people with Medicare

The new cards won’t change Medicare benefits. People with Medicare may start using their new Medicare ID cards as soon as they get them. Until they receive the new Medicare ID card members are to continue using their current Medicare ID card.

For Medicare beneficiaries with a Medicare Advantage plan, the change applies only to their Medicare card and not to their health insurance carrier’s medical card, such as their Humana Medicare Advantage card.

If you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan (with Humana or any company), your Medicare Advantage plan ID card should be kept and used when going to the doctor, hospital, lab, etc.

How do I protect myself from scams

Medicare will never call you uninvited to ask you to get your new Medicare number or get personal or private information.

Scam artists may try to get personal information and/or your current Medicare Number by contacting you about your new card. If someone asks you for your information, for money, or threatens to cancel your health benefits if you don’t share your personal information, hang up and call the Medicare government office at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Additional Sources

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/New-Medicare-Card/NMC-Mailing-Strategy.pdf

https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help-and-resources/your-medicare-card.html

https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help-and-resources/your-medicare-card.html