[Blessings2You]

This was in the AARP magazine:

"Of the 300,000 Americans 65 or older who fracture a hip each year, 20 to 30 percent will die within 12 months, and "many more will experience significant functional loss," according to a 2009 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

"Indeed, a year after fracturing a hip, 90 percent of those who needed no assistance climbing stairs before the fracture will not be able to climb five stairs; 66 percent won't be able to get on or off a toilet without help; 50 percent won't be able to raise themselves from a chair; 31 percent won't be able to get out of bed unassisted; and 20 percent won't be able to put on a pair of pants by themselves."

I know many of us are not in that age group, but some are or pretty darn close. If you live in a wintry area, don't take safety lightly! If you can't stay in when it's icy (first choice): wear grippers, salt/sand your walkway, go slowly, watch where you step, hold on to something!

I know that not all falls happen outside, so be careful everywhere. But our current weather advisory prompted me to post this reminder. It's a big deal.

[SallyC]

Now you tell me!!!

PT got me back on my feet stronger than ever. I didn't break a hip, But you will not find me going outside in any inclimate weather, or trying to climb into my old minivan..

[Jules A]

Just speaking anecdotally in my line of work I have seen numerous times when a broken hip is the beginning of the end in older folks.

[Kitty]

I have never broken a bone. I hope I didn't just jinx myself!

[aussiemom]

My mom, the stinker, took off out my front door with her walker to pick some tangerines. She fell in the sand, broke her hip, and that started the downward health spiral.

[nemsmom]

Originally Posted by Kitty

I have never broken a bone. I hope I didn't just jinx myself!

Yeah, I used to to say that. Then I broke my little toe on one foot. Then I broke the other, then I just keep breaking them over and over.

[missj]

Remember too that sometimes a fall happens as a result of the hip breaking. That is why in addition to the good advice about being extra careful on ice and snow, we MS'ers need to keep our bones strong from the get-go!

[doydie]

My Mother had a broken hip and we didn't know about it for months. She said there was a time when she was walking that felt and heard it pop. Her physical therapist said it couldn't have been broken if she were still able to walk on it. She had numerous spinal problems that could have caused all the hip pain and difficulty in waking and they treated her for that. They never did a hip x-ray. Finally Mom took control and got an ambulance to take her to the hospital. In a matter of about an hour her hip was x-rayed, it was broken because it had a nasty cancerous tumor! She was gone in 2 months. So you don't have to have a fall to have a broken hip, a tumor can break it.

[Koala77]

Originally Posted by Blessings2You

This was in the AARP magazine:

"Of the 300,000 Americans 65 or older who fracture a hip each year, 20 to 30 percent will die within 12 months, and "many more will experience significant functional loss," according to a 2009 study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)......

And you don't have to be 65 or older either! You just need to be frail, or unsteady on your feet to fall ..... and to have any disease that's treated with cortisone therapy to make your bones brittle enough to break!

I'm younger than 65 but I managed to break 10 bones in 10 years, all thanks to 3 decades of intermittent steroid therapy.... all thanks to MS!

I've broken my pelvis twice and was lucky not to break a hip yet. I broke 4 ribs at once on another occasion and could hardly breathe for weeks .... I was lucky not to puncture a lung. They were just a couple of examples of my fractures.... I have broken more. I suffered terribly at the time and for some of the breaks, am still suffering the consequences.

Please don't let it happen to you!

Do look after your bones!

Check your Vitamin D levels and if you happen to be deficient, make sure you take a supplement. Check out this thread that mrsD keeps updated for us. It's called "New medical information on Vitamin D + videos": http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread92116.html

Eat lots of dairy foods and if you can't do that or don't want to do that, then please take a calcium supplement along with a Vitamin D supplement. The Vit D helps the calcium bind to your bones.

Broken bones are very debilitating. In the short term they always cause pain.... sometimes extreme pain, and in a number of cases that pain can become chronic. Have a read in the RSD Forum. I have noticed that an injury such as a fracture can even lead to this chronic, debilitating disease.

A broken bone can also lead to infection at the site of the break, permanent nerve damage, tendon damage or ligament damage. It is possible to lose the function of a limb following a fracture and in very severe cases, individuals may need an amputation because their fracture would not heal.

And of course a broken bone might require surgery. There are many, many dangers related to surgical procedures, up to and including death so ..... PLEASE ..... look after your bones!

[Blessings2You]

Thank you, Koala and others, for the additional good information!

My mother fractured her hip in the nursing home, but she didn't fall and break her hip, her hip broke and then she fell.

When I was walking to work the last few years, I carried a ziplock freezer bag of rock salt with me. When I'd come to an icy spot (even wearing grippers), I would stop and sprinkle a few pieces in my immediate path and put my feet down VERY carefully, make sure the first foot was firmly planted before moving the other one.

My kids said I looked like I was feeding the chickens, but I told them I didn't look any sillier than I'd look sitting on my patootie in the parking lot waiting for the ambulance!

The closest calls I've had have been INdoors, walking too fast for "road" conditions!!