Women - and men - can fend off bone-thinning osteoporosis by being aggressive about eating well, taking calcium and vitamin D supplements, and doing regular weight-bearing exercise, says Dr. Alan Gibstein, an expert on women's issues.

"Since all women lose calcium after age 30, they need to do everything they can to keep what they have. Men, too," says Gibstein, who is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the New York University College of Medicine and a teacher at the Long Island Jewish North Shore Health Care System. The stereotype is that osteoporosis is a disease of older women. But the reality is that the disorder is a significant threat to more than 2 million American men. (Read more about Avoiding Osteoporosis)

Related Stories

- VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENTATION
- HISPANICS AND OSTEOPOROSIS
- Cutting-Edge Knee-Replacement Gadgets

A computer-aided bone-implant technique is coming on line that will increase the accuracy of implant insertions and decrease operating room time for hip, shoulder, knee and ankle replacements - especially for younger patients.

The novel technology relies on software newly developed by the Human Mobility Research Center in Kingston, Ontario. It also depends on computed tomography (CT) scans of a patient's damaged joint. The software creates an exact, patient-specific, 3-D image of the joint and nearby bones, which can then be turned into a plastic model. This, in turn, is used for precise alignment and placement of the metal implants needed to redo the patient's joint with - in the case of hip surgery - so-called hip resurfacing arthroplasty. (Read more about Technique Aids Joint Replacements)

Related Stories

- ACUPUNCTURE FOR KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS
- Osteoporosis Drug Danger
- Anti-Arthritis Benefits of Ancient China's Qigong

If you have osteoarthritis of the knees, with all of the pain and loss of flexibility that entails, chances are your doctor has recommended arthroscopic surgery. This is a procedure in which the surgeon inserts a scope into the knee and cleans out bits of loose bone and smoothes rough cartilage.

But there are ways to avoid this invasive, expensive surgery and actually alleviate the arthritis. (Read more about How to Save Your Knees From Arthroscopic Surgery)

Related Stories

- KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS
- VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENTATION
- Anti-Arthritis Benefits of Ancient China's Qigong

Medicine is ever advancing - and that includes orthopedic medicine, which has now developed gender-specific artificial knees that match the subtle anatomical differences between men and women. Technicians have also produced a computer program to assist orthopedic surgeons in correctly positioning replacement knees.

These two elements - gender-specificity and computer-navigated surgery - are being hotly discussed these days whenever orthopedic surgeons come together in professional gatherings. (Read more about Cutting-Edge Knee-Replacement Gadgets)

Related Stories

- Hip Fracture
- Knee Replacement
- ARTIFICIAL DISC TREATS LOWER BACK PAIN

An old Chinese healing-energy practice has potential for helping patients with knee arthritis, recent research suggests.

The Chinese technique, known as qigong (pronounced chee-gong), utilizes the supposed flows of chi (qi), or energy, in practitioner and patient to bring healing to a variety of disorders. It's widespread in China. Qigong theorizes that disease results from blockages in the free flow of chi in the human organism. A therapist trained in controlling his own chi can use it to normalize the flow of chi in a patient. (Read more about Anti-Arthritis Benefits of Ancient China's Qigong)

Related Stories

- Hip Replacement
- HISPANICS AND OSTEOPOROSIS
- High Impact Means High Bone Density for Children

High impact activities like jumping and skipping has been shown to benefit bone health in adolescents. A ten minute school based intervention, provided twice a week for eight months, greatly improved bone and muscle strength in healthy teenagers when compared to regular warmups. Physiotherapist Ben Weeks said the warm-up, which included high intensity jumps and lunges of gradually increasing complexity and repetition, was specifically designed to stimulate skeletal growth. By the end of the study, students worked up to about 300 jumps per session. (Read more about High Impact Means High Bone Density for Children)

Related Stories

- RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS TREATMENT
- Cutting-Edge Knee-Replacement Gadgets
- How to Save Your Knees From Arthroscopic Surgery

No one said getting old is all fun. After 40 or 50 or 60 years of walking, running, and playing sport, the knees start to wear down.

Make no mistake, osteoarthritis is a serious condition.

It limits what people can do, affects quality of life, and can lead to disability and lost days of work.

Yes, there are medicines for it, but treatment isn'’t perfect.

Patrick Russo is only 43 but from years of high school football, osteoarthritis of the knee has set in big time. “"I have a Dalmatian who has to be in the park every day, so with her it got to be a real hassle because walking just hurt",” says Patrick. "“I don’'t like to take drugs for pain or any of that stuff, so I tried to find something that would help alleviate the pain.”"

Dr. Adam Perlman, of UMDNJ, says, “"We don’'t know how to cure it, and many of the treatments can have their own side effects such as irritation of the stomach from medications people might take, or other side effects of those medications.”"

But maybe something as simple as a massage could be the answer for Patrick and the millions of Americans who suffer from knee osteoarthritis.

According to new research in the archives of internal medicine, Swedish massage of the knee appears to provide lasting relief from osteoarthritis related pain, stiffness, and loss of physical function. (Read more about Massage Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis)

Related Stories

- OSTEOPOROSIS MEDICATIONS
- Osteoporosis Drug Danger
- Technique Aids Joint Replacements

There is a growing number of cases of a disturbing complication to the bone building medications like fosamax. Those taking the drugs are at an increased risk of horrible breakdown of the jaw after dental procedures.

This was first noticed perhaps a year and a half ago, but even just now are dentists and oral surgeons taking notice.

Now, while this is a very serious side effect, it doesn’t mean the medicines should be stopped. They just need to be used with caution, especially when invasive dental procedures need to be performed.


It was a problem that had dentist Bob Deutch very concerned--scratching his head as to what was going on with his patient’s jawbone.

Dr. Deutch says, “A patient post-operatively healing perfectly from implant surgery we started to notice there was some osteonecrosis taking place for no apparent reason.”

Osteonecrosis--the breakdown of the jaw bone… (Read more about Osteoporosis Drug Danger)

Related Stories

- Avoiding Osteoporosis
- RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS TREATMENT
- Hip Replacement

If you’ve tried all the pain medicines, the heat packs, and you still have aching knees, there’s new evidence that acupuncture might help with your osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of joint disease, and the most common location for osteoarthritis is, in fact, the knee. And with our aging baby boomers, more and more of us are going to have to deal with this problem, which is hardly insignificant. (Read more about ACUPUNCTURE FOR KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS)

Related Stories

- Knee Replacement
- Cutting-Edge Knee-Replacement Gadgets
- Technique Aids Joint Replacements

1 in 4 people will ultimately die from complications caused by a hip fracture. Each year in the United States, there are 350,000 hip fractures. (Read more about Hip Fracture)

Related Stories

- Knee Replacement
- OSTEOPOROSIS MEDICATIONS
- Anti-Arthritis Benefits of Ancient China's Qigong