Healthy Bones = Healthy Life

By Ramonica Jones

About a hundred SOTX athletes, parents and volunteers got to participate in a Summer Games first on Friday – bone density testing at Wellness Park.  Bone density scans determine the health and strength of bones.  Texas Christian University Professor Dr. Phil Esposito administered the tests and the results were available in about a minute.  The scans also took about a minute each to complete and weren’t painful or uncomfortable. 

Many people have never had a bone density scan, but screening is very important, especially for athletes.

“It can cause osteoporosis (loss of bone), which may lead to bone breaks,” explained Dr. Esposito. 

Athletes whose tests revealed low bone density were encouraged to get a physician referral and asked to take a follow up test.  Fortunately, low bone density is a problem that can be treated. Often, it’s an issue that athletes can take care of at home.

“They’ll need to increase their physical activity with things like walking and running, which place weight on [and helps strengthen] their bones, as opposed to swimming and bike riding.  They also need to look at their diet.” 

Foods like milk, cheese and other dairy products provide a lot of the calcium that bones need to stay strong and healthy.  So put down the soda and get on over to Wellness Park and get checked!

If you missed out on Friday’s screenings, bone density testing continues on Saturday.