Extreme Sports and Preventative Care

Bone Fractures in Extreme Sports

The Action Sports Season (Winter through Summer) is hitting its stride this Spring 2022 as the nation collectively wakes from its COVID hibernation. In California, the mask mandate has been lifted and large music festivals like Coachella are back in vogue. While large venues like ski lift parks are open and patronage is in full swing. After two years of hiding away from the public, we are now hurling our new-found selves down slopes at speeds a social sportsman (kind of like social drinking), should not attempt. With this newfound fervor for extreme sports, my girlfriend sadly broke her tibia and fibula in a horrific skiing accident. The bones snapped. Colorado Winter Park’s Ski Patrol brought her down the slopes where she was placed under sedation and less than 24 hours later she was in the operating room at Denver Hospital. Surgery implanted seven titanium screws and titanium rods into her leg and the following months have been replete with pain and physical therapist visits.

What could have been done to prevent such an extreme fracture? Are there daily, weekly, or monthly habits that should be taken up in an effort to preemptively address weak bones and osteoporosis?

Preventative care and Proactive Care

This accident brought the reality of bone health and bone fractures to the forefront of my mind; the day-to-day tasks involved in living became laborious and difficult with the broken leg and its related pain, swelling, and general lack of mobility. Instead of asking “Why did this happen to us?” and being a victim to the circumstances, we have approached the difficulties of fractured bones with introspection and self-awareness. We’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve sacrificed much of our bodies’ well-being and health to work. In the process, we outgrew our youth as we traded it away for financial stability and financial freedom. It led us to understand that as adults we must care for our physical bodies just as we care for our pets or children, career, or relationships. The progress of medicine and quality of life vastly increased our average life expectancy. Now our bodies must carry us well past our Fifties and Sixties and the demands upon us are such a blessing as the healthiest of us have the longevity to become Great-Grandparents.

Taking Responsibility

The next step is visiting your Rheumatologist and taking the time to get a bone density assessment along with osteoporosis asseSelf awareness brought a sense of understanding for the next steps that we needed to take to rectify and prevent such an injury from happening again. With a new focus on preventative care, we are adding Yoga and Pilates to our morning routines, and increasing our calcium and vitamin D intake through oral supplements. We schedule extra time to increase physical activity every day, and increase our time outdoors in the sun to boost vitamin D. I am sure many of you reading also do the same. However, is this enough?

IF YOU ARE ABOVE 50 YEARS OF AGE, the next step is visiting your Rheumatologist and taking the time to get a bone density assessment along with an osteoporosis assessment. These would get the ball rolling with your bone health specialist and make sure that you are adequately protecting your body from the insane demands of modern life. Here at Core Health Infusion Center, we strive to ensure all of our patients are proactively working to improve bone health. We work hard to provide the most effective treatments for each patient.