We all know that when you are old, you should pay attention to calcium supplementation and exercise properly, otherwise you will be prone to osteoporosis.
Once osteoporosis is lost, how brittle can this bone be? Maybe “cough, cough” and it will stop.
This is really not an alarmist. The 64-year-old Uncle Tao broke his “back” from coughing like this, and was almost paralyzed.
Uncle Tao, who lives in Anji, started to have chest and back pain inexplicably after a cough two months ago.
“I thought it was because my cough was too bad, and I took it as a treatment for cough and asthma at the local hospital.” Uncle Tao was really able to endure the pain, and he endured it for two months. But some time ago, he couldn’t bear it anymore, and the pain became more and more painful. “It felt like the sword was pierced from the back and the pain was wrapped from the back to the chest.”
So he hurried to Shulan ( Hangzhou) Hospital Orthopedics, requiring hospitalization. As a result, after an investigation at the hospital, it turned out that Uncle Tao suffered a compression fracture of the 6th thoracic vertebral body.
“The height of the entire sixth vertebra was compressed by half, and the fractured bone penetrated the neural canal and compressed the nerve.” Early the next morning, the orthopaedic department immediately organized a preoperative discussion to improve the preoperative preparations.
“As a result, when I was doing rounds at noon, the patient’s condition suddenly deteriorated, and the muscle strength of both legs deteriorated. The left leg is more serious and has lost consciousness.”
Dr. Zhang Zhiwu of the Department of Orthopedics immediately notified the Chief Physician Zhou Yijun of the Department of Orthopedics. .
“We must race against time, and we must race against time to complete the operation before the nerve cells die.” Director Zhou Yijun explained that the thoracic spinal canal is small and the spinal cord is compressed for too long, and the cell necrosis damage is irreversible. At that time, even if the operation is successful, the patient will not recover well in the later stage and may be in bed for life, so the operation must be performed within the golden eight hours. “
Around 5:00 p.m., Uncle Tao was pushed into the operating room. Director Zhou Yijun, the chief surgeon, successively inserted screws into the 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th thoracic vertebrae for fixation.
Open the thoracic 6 spinal canal, release the spinal cord compression, and then fix it. The whole operation takes nearly 4 hours, the operation is difficult, and it is very difficult for doctors to operate. The precise operation requirements are high.
“I woke up after the operation and my legs have regained consciousness. “Uncle Tao recovered well after the operation. He was able to lie down and move his legs in about a week. Now he can walk normally. The doctor instructed Uncle Tao to pay attention to the treatment of “osteoporosis”.
Why Uncle Tao’s osteoporosis is so serious?
It turned out that he was diagnosed with lymphoma 6 years ago, and because of asthma and bronchitis, he took hormone drugs all the year round, and the bone loss was serious, and he didn’t pay attention to timely Supplement.
“At the time of admission, we found that his bone mineral density T value was -3.1, which was already mild to moderate osteoporosis. ”
T value is a relative value, the normal reference value is between -1 and +1, and when the T value is lower than -2.5, it is abnormal.
Therefore, bone mineral density It is an important indicator of bone quality, reflects the degree of osteoporosis, and is an important basis for predicting the risk of fracture.
“At the same time, the patient’s own body weight is heavy, and the load on the spine is large, and the repeated severe cough at this time , It is very easy to cause thoracic vertebra fractures. Once the rescue and treatment are not timely, the root cause of the disease will fall and the paraplegia will be lifelong. ”
The doctor reminds that it is recommended to take the initiative to pay attention to your bone density in advance. You can have the first bone density test at the age of 45 to know your bone density level.
And the female is 50 years old. In the future, after the age of 65, the bone loss will accelerate, and the bone density test can be done once a year.
We should pay attention to appropriate outdoor exercise, supplement calcium and vitamin D in time, take hormone drugs as prescribed by the doctor, and quit smoking. , limit alcohol, do not stay up late, and avoid excessive consumption of coffee, carbonated drinks, etc.
Source: Zhejiang Medical Online