Sci 241 - My Plan for Better Health

My Plan For Better Health

Axia College - Sci241

My Plan For Better Health

In my family individuality is a prized virtue. Everyone in my family is unique to say the least, but that is not to say that we do not all share some things in common; easy to get along with yet stubborn as can be, pride in our surname and our heritage, a few strong Scandinavian features, and -- degenerative bone disease. The latter usually develops at about age 35 in both the male and females of my family. It most commonly affects the shoulders, followed by the knees, and sometimes wrists as well. By the age of 70 it is not uncommon for both males and females in my family to have full-blown rheumatoid arthritis. For me it is proving to be something different entirely. At the age of only 15, I was diagnosed for the first-time with degenerative deterioration of my lower lumbar. I was told in no uncertain terms by an orthopedic surgeon that I had the back of a 50-year-old man in the body of a varsity football player. He told me that, as long as I kept my back strong, I should be able to hold out until my 40s before developing any major issues requiring surgery; however, I have had it checked every five years since that day, each time by a different doctor, and the last when I was 25 did not look good. Not only was the deterioration of my lower lumbar worse, but there were also signs of deterioration in my upper lumbar as well as some small amounts of deterioration in my neck. So what to do? That is a question I hope to answer with this paper.

General Research Findings

To begin with I needed to do more research on degenerative bone disorders to discover if there has been any recent developments or breakthroughs in the way of treatments. While there were no breakthrough medical treatments to be had, there have been many studies conducted that show much promise for slowing or even preventing the development or worsening of degenerative bone disorders. That includes those associated solely with old age. Most studies, such as one for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and yet another from the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), show that resistance training such as weightlifting and other impact activities such as plyometrics , when performed properly, may improve bone density or at the lease prevent its loss. The study for the ACSM suggests that weight-bearing endurance activities and resistance training, when preformed with moderate to high intensity, three to five times per week, 30 to 60 minutes per day is ideal for support of bone density in adults with no cap in age (Kohrt, Bloomfield, Little, Nelson, Yingling, 2007). The NOF Web site in addition to discussing the importance of physical load bearing activities discusses the importance of calcium intake to preserve bone