Newsroom Hospital for Special Surgery

May is National Osteoporosis Month

Thu, 25 Apr 2019 17:11:42 -0400

NYCityWoman.com highlights National Osteoporosis Month (May), underscoring the importance of knowing the risk factors and taking action.

NYCityWoman.com spoke to Joseph M. Lane, MD, chief of Metabolic Bone Disease Service at HSS, to discuss ways for women to manage bone health as they age, who suggested those with risk factors would benefit from earlier testing. Those factors include family history, low body weight, long term steroid use or diseases that can cause osteoporosis (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis). “Talk to your internist if you think you may be at risk and get a baseline screening,” said Dr. Lane.

As calcium is important for healthy bones, Dr. Lane advised, “Number one is to improve your diet. Eat something green every day, not peas, but leafy greens.” He also recommends building in rich dairy products, such as yogurt and almond milk.

Furthermore, exercise is a critical factor for bone health, specifically weight-bearing exercise. “You won’t change your bone density, but you’ll improve the quality of the bone,” said Dr. Lane. Rather than just walking on a treadmill, Dr. Lane suggested engaging in a variety of exercises such as Tai Chi and Barre classes in addition to walking and walking up the stairs. “Play sports and have fun. If it’s not fun, you won’t do it,” cited Dr. Lane.

Read the full article at NYCityWoman.com.

Medical optimization readies patients for successful orthopedic surgery

Sat, 01 Dec 2018 07:00:00 -0500

Orthopedics Today's December 2018 print cover story looks at how pre-operative medical optimization can help reduce post-operative complications in orthopedic surgery patients.

Joseph M. Lane, MD, chief of the Metabolic Bone Disease Service at HSS, explains that HSS does not do elective surgery on patients with diabetes mellitus, specifically, with a HbA1c that is above 8 percent.

When it comes to vitamin D, it's best for a patient's level to be about 30 ng/mL for elective surgery. "You need vitamin D to mineralize your bone and if you do not have vitamin D, you cannot mineralize your bone. People with low vitamin D are going to be low healing," says Dr. Lane.

Read the full article at Healio.com. This also appeared as the cover story of the December 2018 print issue.

Shrinking With Age: "What Do You Mean I'm An Inch Shorter Than I Used To Be?"

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 07:00:00 -0400

Next Tribe featured HSS orthopedic trauma surgeon Joseph M. Lane, MD, and chief of Spine Service Frank Schwab, MD, in an article about losing height as you get older.

According to the article, the chemical composition of spinal discs changes and retains less water as people age.

"We all lose some of the water content in the disc, so the discs settle down. And if you think of the whole spinal column, and you think just a few millimeters but across an entire spine, it all adds up, so we get shorter with age," said Dr. Schwab.

"You can't change your genetics. Some people will get shorter faster than others, and some people will be curved forward more than others. It's very hard to change that," Dr. Schwab added.

To help prevent osteoporosis, Dr. Lane recommended taking vitamin D and calcium.

Read the full article at nexttribe.com.