Surely that can’t be right?!

“Surely that can’t be right!”

“30% of people who have a hip fracture (over the age of 50) die within a year”

I heard that stat on a podcast the other day and it seemed ridiculously high to me at the time.

What followed the next day was about an hour of reading different research papers, blogs and articles around it. Some papers questioned whether it was as high as 30% but the general consensus was that the mortality risk for hip fractures was very high.

The good news is that treatment and after-care for people who experience hip fractures is slowly getting better but in the meantime, we can certainly do more to protect ourselves.

There are many things that can lead to hip fractures. One of those is osteoporosis.

You’ve probably heard of it.

In a nutshell, bone density decreases and as a result, bone strength falls too.

What was once a minor fall that may have left you with a bruised bum and a dose of embarrassment, could now end up with you in hospital with a fractured hip.

And with the stat above in mind, it could lead to something even worse.

The thing I really want to hammer home in this blog is that there are things you can do that will significantly improve your bone health and therefore your chances of staying out of hospital, should you take a fall.

The one I want to talk about today:

Resistance/strength training.

There isn’t anyone I wouldn’t recommend strength training to that wouldn’t benefit. There are so many health benefits (both physical and mental) that, if I were large and in charge, strength training would be in the school curriculum. In my view, it’s that important.

Prevention is, of course, better than cure and as we get older, it becomes even more important we are including some form of strength training in our weeks. (Osteoporosis is very common in women post-menopause due to the drop in hormone levels so ladies, get training)

What form that takes is completely up to you. It might be in your local gym using the weight machines, it might be using some dumbbells in your garage. Heck, it could be resistance bands in your lounge. Whatever it is, if you are not currently doing it, please start.

Of course, nothing is absolute but if something as simple as strength training can really help improve our chances, then why wouldn’t we do it?

If it’s a case of thinking “that’s all well and good, Mikey, but **insert reason here** is stopping me from starting” I promise you, I’ve helped someone with that before too.

If it’s confidence, lack of knowledge, time or motivation I have helped dozens of people overcome those barriers.

Don’t be hesitant to reach out and pick my brains.

Happy to help.