Sunlight exposure - risks vs. benefits
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Thanks for this link @wtg . I definitely don’t get enough sun, and since my foot problems, even less so because all my classes are in the building where my office is and I am currently moving around much less than I normally would be.
Because I had a broken bone without a fall or other accident, my doc recommended a bone density scan, which I just had last week, and I have now been diagnosed with osteopenia (which is a precursor to osteoporosis). I’m still waiting for the consult with my doctor after this scan, so I don’t have much information, but bone health, vitamin D and calcium are now on my radar.
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After watching Rob’s battle with skin cancer (including having to reconstruct his cheek/lip) I’m going to stick to my daily regime of sunscreen on all exposed skin, wearing a hat when I’m outside during peak sun periods, and staying in the shade whenever possible. Luckily for me I rarely burn (even back in the 80s when sunscreen wasn’t a thing). But I’m still very cautious (and Rob even more so).
@dolmansaxlil said in Sunlight exposure - risks vs. benefits:
After watching Rob’s battle with skin cancer (including having to reconstruct his cheek/lip)
I don’t think I knew about this, was it recent? Is he ok now?
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Luckily nothing has ever spread beyond skin, so he has only had to undergo surgical treatments. His last major bout was a Mohs surgery two years ago to remove a chunk that had been removed several times before. They seem to have gotten it all from that section now. The surgery to reconstruct his cheek was a long time ago - maybe 10 years? They took a triangular piece a few inches across out of his lip and cheek, moved some of his inner cheek out to reconstruct his lip, and sewed him back up. His doctor was incredible! The scar is quite noticeable - I’m sure people wonder what happened to him when they first meet him - but the initial assessment was that he would lose half of his upper lip and they wouldn’t be able to reconstruct it. The doctor changed his mind during the surgery and did the reconstruction. Now he just has little bits blasted off about every 6 months - always on his face. His dermatologist and plastic surgeon’s preference would be that he lived in a dark cave
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Thanks for this link @wtg . I definitely don’t get enough sun, and since my foot problems, even less so because all my classes are in the building where my office is and I am currently moving around much less than I normally would be.
Because I had a broken bone without a fall or other accident, my doc recommended a bone density scan, which I just had last week, and I have now been diagnosed with osteopenia (which is a precursor to osteoporosis). I’m still waiting for the consult with my doctor after this scan, so I don’t have much information, but bone health, vitamin D and calcium are now on my radar.
@ShiroKuro My mom has severe osteoporosis. It’s no joke. She spontaneously broke her spine (while literally sitting on the couch) a few years ago, which is how she was diagnosed. They did the standard treatments to try to reverse it and increase her bone density, but they were ineffective. She is now on Teriparatide, which she will inject daily for two years. Do everything you can now to reverse it! I take a daily vitamin D supplement as well as calcium. I’m also trying to incorporate more impact exercises to strengthen my bones.
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Luckily nothing has ever spread beyond skin, so he has only had to undergo surgical treatments. His last major bout was a Mohs surgery two years ago to remove a chunk that had been removed several times before. They seem to have gotten it all from that section now. The surgery to reconstruct his cheek was a long time ago - maybe 10 years? They took a triangular piece a few inches across out of his lip and cheek, moved some of his inner cheek out to reconstruct his lip, and sewed him back up. His doctor was incredible! The scar is quite noticeable - I’m sure people wonder what happened to him when they first meet him - but the initial assessment was that he would lose half of his upper lip and they wouldn’t be able to reconstruct it. The doctor changed his mind during the surgery and did the reconstruction. Now he just has little bits blasted off about every 6 months - always on his face. His dermatologist and plastic surgeon’s preference would be that he lived in a dark cave
@dolmansaxlil Re Rob's experience, wow! That must have been very painful, and scary for both of you! I'm glad it never spread and that it's well controlled now!
Re your mother, I'm sorry to hear about that, it sounds awful!
@dolmansaxlil said in Sunlight exposure - risks vs. benefits:
I take a daily vitamin D supplement as well as calcium.
This was the first thing I did. I take a calcium pill and vitamin D at dinner, and multivitamin with those and others, at lunch.
I’m also trying to incorporate more impact exercises to strengthen my bones.
This is my problem right here. I have a problem with my foot (bone deformity, tendonopathy, bursitis) and I can hardly walk at present. Presumably the broken bone has healed, but my activity level plummeted and I can't yet bring it back up. I ride my exercise bike daily, but that's not weight bearing, so although it's good to do, it doesn't help my bone density.
I am doing PT and am really hoping to avoid having surgery on my foot, for one reason, it would mean possibly 12 weeks of zero weight bearing, which is the last thing I want.
Anyway, we'll see how it goes....
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Wow, Dol! Thats quite a trial! Sorry Rob had to go through it and glad to hear it’s working out.
Shiro - yikes! Sounds like a perfect storm. Hope you can get everything resolved quickly!
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I bet dermatologists don’t hold their conventions in beach towns. Deep forest maybe.
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@ShiroKuro I think that type of situation happens to a lot of people. Hopefully your foot issues are resolved soon and you can get back to your active self! Maybe talk to your PT or doctor and see if there are yoga positions you can try that won’t irritate your foot. There are some studies that show yoga can increase bone density, and a slow flow may be more manageable for you than a jarring higher impact activity.
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Thanks @Steve-Miller
@dolmansaxlil , I don’t think I can do any standing yoga at present, and that’s what is needed for bone health, weight-bearing that is. I’ve been dealing with this for almost a year now, and been doing PT since January. My local doc (a general ortho) thinks I’m not going to get better without surgery, so he has referred me to an ankle and foot surgeon, who I will see in about two weeks. But my PTist had me start a new activity about three weeks ago, and it feels like something is actually improving, so now maybe there’s hope. We’ll see.
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We've added a vibration plate to the circuit in our apartment. Mixed data on the effect targeting bone density, but even sitting on it or doing a kneeling plank is possible if you have foot issues. We got one of the Lifepro models which has worked well for us. MrsTuner has bone density issues and is doing what she can to improve.
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We've added a vibration plate to the circuit in our apartment. Mixed data on the effect targeting bone density, but even sitting on it or doing a kneeling plank is possible if you have foot issues. We got one of the Lifepro models which has worked well for us. MrsTuner has bone density issues and is doing what she can to improve.
@Rontuner said in Sunlight exposure - risks vs. benefits:
a vibration plate
I had never heard of this before, but a quick google search suggests it could be helpful so I'm going to look into it more. I need to check with my doctor to see if it's ok, but as I get better, if it's just standing and doesn't involve moving the feet while on it, it might be something I can do in the near future.
BTW do you have a model you would recommend?
to the circuit in our apartment
Does this mean you have exercise equipment in your basement or something else?
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The vibration plate and a rebounder (Bellicon - lymph movement and more bone density for MrsTuner) are the only real "equipment" in the apartment, but we've both had recoveries from surgeries and rounds of physical therapies over the years. MrsTuner was very active in yoga and pilates until her recent shoulder replacement, so learned that there is a lot that can be accomplished in the room it takes to roll out a yoga mat or tube for fascia rolling (she swears by the melt method - has video membership). Lots of resistance bands/tubes with a little anchor to hook in a door gives any of the weight training that we a currently practicing.
There are vibration plate models with support handles if balance is an issue, but we got one of the Lifepro models that went for around $200?? I can look up the model if you want!
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The vibration plate and a rebounder (Bellicon - lymph movement and more bone density for MrsTuner) are the only real "equipment" in the apartment, but we've both had recoveries from surgeries and rounds of physical therapies over the years. MrsTuner was very active in yoga and pilates until her recent shoulder replacement, so learned that there is a lot that can be accomplished in the room it takes to roll out a yoga mat or tube for fascia rolling (she swears by the melt method - has video membership). Lots of resistance bands/tubes with a little anchor to hook in a door gives any of the weight training that we a currently practicing.
There are vibration plate models with support handles if balance is an issue, but we got one of the Lifepro models that went for around $200?? I can look up the model if you want!
@Rontuner said in Sunlight exposure - risks vs. benefits:
There are vibration plate models with support handles if balance is an issue, but we got one of the Lifepro models that went for around $200?? I can look up the model if you want!
Yes, that would be most appreciated!
So do you just stand on it and try to maintain your balance while it vibrates? For how long? Every day?
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The vibration plate and a rebounder (Bellicon - lymph movement and more bone density for MrsTuner) are the only real "equipment" in the apartment, but we've both had recoveries from surgeries and rounds of physical therapies over the years. MrsTuner was very active in yoga and pilates until her recent shoulder replacement, so learned that there is a lot that can be accomplished in the room it takes to roll out a yoga mat or tube for fascia rolling (she swears by the melt method - has video membership). Lots of resistance bands/tubes with a little anchor to hook in a door gives any of the weight training that we a currently practicing.
There are vibration plate models with support handles if balance is an issue, but we got one of the Lifepro models that went for around $200?? I can look up the model if you want!
@Rontuner I found this one:
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And this article:
https://www.healthline.com/health/vibration-plate-for-osteoporosis
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Shiro I have a Sperax brand walking pad that is also a vibration plate. While I haven’t used the vibration feature myself Rob did tonnes of research before we bought it and it is very well reviewed (and relatively inexpensive).
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@Rontuner said in Sunlight exposure - risks vs. benefits:
There are vibration plate models with support handles if balance is an issue, but we got one of the Lifepro models that went for around $200?? I can look up the model if you want!
Yes, that would be most appreciated!
So do you just stand on it and try to maintain your balance while it vibrates? For how long? Every day?
@ShiroKuro said in Sunlight exposure - risks vs. benefits:
@Rontuner said in Sunlight exposure - risks vs. benefits:
There are vibration plate models with support handles if balance is an issue, but we got one of the Lifepro models that went for around $200?? I can look up the model if you want!
Yes, that would be most appreciated!
So do you just stand on it and try to maintain your balance while it vibrates? For how long? Every day?
It's really up to you. The vibration speed is up to you and it doesn't move very much so it doesn't seem a challenge to us to maintain balance. Squats, twists and any upper body things you may do standing. Even just sitting on it is supposed to be helpful. There are also step up, step down types of things, and more advanced challenges but it sounded like those aren't right for you? Also planks with either hands, knees or feet on platform. Probably lots to find online. Maybe 3x/week?
I think this is the one I purchased: https://lifeprofitness.com/products/hovert-3d-vibration-plate-machine
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Instead of buying a vibration plate machine: Do you belong to a health club? They might have one. Mine does. It’s a Power Plate machine and it costs about $10,000 because the club needs a commercial quality machine that would hold up to constant usage by people all day long. The Power Plate has two user selections: frequency/amplitude and time. Frequency is how fast the plate vibrates and amplitude is how much distance the plate travels. I don’t know how much therapeutic value the machine provides but to me, the machine is great to use after a workout.
Frequency/amplitude on the machine’s control panel can be set from 1 (slowest) to 8 (fastest). Set it to the maximum of 8 and the vibration can make your teeth chatter.
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ShiroKiro - identified with your problem as described. It started right after I came to from the spinal op (something called "toeing out" which is getting worse and worse. In a way no surgeon so far has been able to figure out, the whole lower left limb (I figure it's like the old song goes - "hip bones connected to the knee bone, knee bones connected to..." etc. The scoliosis
and spinal deformity which necessitated the surgery, left me very off kilter - center of gravity is just NOT as it should be and with time, all the moving parts on that side are twisting the others so right now, my left knee has gotten quite bad (also collapsing under me suddenly which puts me at constant fall risk).I want to have the left knee replaced like the right, but I can't figure out how I could rehab it (requires tons of bending so the healing comes out right, and my back is like the tin man, so what then?)
Drives me crazy that insurance and the age of specialization, force me to make appointments with three - four different surgeons, each separately separately (hip, knee, foot and ankle - and, of course, spine) when it's clearly a contiguous problem affecting all three/four parts!
WHAT IN THE HELLERONI AM I SUPPOSED TO DO TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON (AND - DARE I SAY IT? - FIX IT, OR AT LEAST IMPROVE IT??)
Meanwhile, I'm constantly tripping over my own feet thanks to tendonitis, extreme pez planus (I used to think flat foot was kind of a joke diagnosis!), and foot drop on that same side. Now the left foot is becoming deformed from all the pronation - the bone actually seems to have changed shape.
Meanwhile (what I'd intended to write about) about the bone density. I take a monthly pill to hopefully improve it (Actonel - there's a stronger one given by injection which supposedly remineralizes the bones to a degree). And the exercise I rely on for the recommended weight bearing, is a stair stepper.
You can hold on to the handrails to adjust how much you want to rely on your arms to rely on the stairs (different levels of speed and other adjustments).
There are different kinds, but all gyms have them. I actually got a fancy model from Craigslist - it was one or two hundred miles away but by great good luck, it happened to be on the route to my spinal surgeon so my son managed JUST managed to fit it in his RAV (bending it a teensy bit).(Funny digression - asking the owner why he was getting rid of it - he said sheepishly he hadn't checked the height it raised him to, and the ceiling of his basement gym was too low. He showed us, and sure enough it would have partly decapitated him had he tried to use it! His loss, my gain (and a lesson on precautions one needs to take when buying exercise equipment!.)
You spoke of the difficult recuperation from foot surgery but evidently you aren't at risk of the one which SCARES me the mosts, from undertaking it - - those gargantuan heavy boots they require. They do a number on my spine. The one I had to wear after an ankle fracture, caused me so much back pain, I had to get PT to try to relieve it! It was far worse than the ankle discomfort.
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@Rontuner thanks, that is all very helpful!
@Qaanaaq-Qaalaaq going to a gym on a regular basis is not something I’m ever going to be able to make part of my regular routine (going to PT once a week is disruptive enough!) but I have been very successful do something daily when I can do it at home. So no gym memberships for me.
@Amanda im really sorry to hear of your trouble!
Drives me crazy that insurance and the age of specialization, force me to make appointments with three - four different surgeons, each separately separately (hip, knee, foot and ankle - and, of course, spine) when it's clearly a contiguous problem affecting all three/four parts!
This also makes me crazy. Once when I was making an appointment with my ortho, I was talking about my foot and my knee, and the scheduler said something like “well you can have the doctor look at one body part per visit,” and I about blew my top. Like, those parts are all connected and they all affect each other!
But nope, this is America and we don’t treat the whole patient. I’m not able to do a stair stepper at present. Maybe if my foot gets better..
And re the boot, that was also horrible for me as well, I had my right foot in a boot and although I did my best to get a shoe for my left foot that evened out the height, it was awful for my back and sent my left foot back toward plantar fasciitis, which I had but was healed. Now that I’ve been out of the boot for almost a month, my back and left foot are getting better, but because I still walk with a bad limp and am not able to walk much, the back and left side are still not 100%….
