Paddling for Healthy Bones: Gurgaon residents join Cyclothon organized by Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon’s On World Osteoporosis Day

•    To mark World Osteoporosis Day, Paras Hospitals Gurgaon also throws open a bone health camp after the Cyclothon

•    Former Woman’s Hockey Captain of India Mamta Kharab (DSP Gurgaon Police ) flags off the Cyclothon

•    Event masterminded by Orthopaedicians – Create Awareness- 1 in 3 women suffer from Osteoporosis and so do 1 in 5 men.

Gurgaon, Oct 19: Men and women, young and old! The residents of Gurgaon today turned out with their bicycles in large numbers to lend their voice to the battle cry ‘Paddle For Healthy Bones ’ as they joined a Cyclothon organized by Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon to raise awareness and consciousness about the need to promote bone health.

The event was flagged also in the presence of Dr Kousar Ali Shah, Zonal Director, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon, who supported this novel event.

According to Dr Ravi Sauhta, Sr Consultant, Orthopaedics highlights that,” Recent advances in osteoporosis show that there is something called as- Calcium paradox. Taking calcium alone does not prevent osteoporosis; rather it gets deposited into the blood vessels leading to heart attacks and brain strokes. One must add vitamin KZ-7 in order to prevent this risk. The three fat soluble vitamins – A, SD& KZ-7 envolve a special relationship among each other. The vitamin A ensures increase excretion of calcium through kidney and release of calcium from the blood vessels.”

The aim of the event was to celebrate World osteoporosis day and create awareness about the same. According to Dr Inderjit Agrawal, HOD Rheumatology , Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon, “ Men and Women today are every well informed. They eat right, are majority concerned about their health- however their focus is usually on their heart, eyes, etc. However people need to understand that to have healthy bones one needs to start early at a young age. This event is to generate some interest in the same, after all an active life leads to a healthy one!.” He also stated that this disease most affects women in the menopause, post 50 yrs of age and men after 55 yrs of age.

The event headed, organized and masterminded by the Department of Orthopaedics, Joint Replacement & Trauma aims at highlighting that this disease affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men in India. The experts have come together to ensure that the risks, preventive measures are known to all.

Cyclists of different age groups joined the endeavor enthusiastically, and commenced their 4.9 km cycling marathon from the premises of Paras Hospitals to Leisure Valley Gurgaon. After the Cyclothon ended, the hospital opened up an Orthopedic Camp at Leisure Valley to invite people to get their bone health checked with Bone Densitometry test and BMI checks.

According to Dr Vivek Logani , Chief of Joint Replacement Surgery, “ Usually people of different age groups only resort to cholesterol, BP and blood sugar test. People don’t bother about their bone density, calcium count, Vitamin  D level. The aim of this event and the following camp is to ensure that people understand the importance of healthy bones and become open minded towards regularly visiting orthopaedicians too.”

While many participants brought their own cycles, many others were provided the vehicles by the hospital authorities to encourage as many people as possible to join the initiative ahead of World Osteoporosis Day.

“Bone health is of vital importance but in a country like India that struggles with major health ailments like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, communicable diseases like tuberculosis, cholera, dengue, the issues of osteoporosis often fails to grab public attention. However, this is one ailment that affects a huge number of Indians – both men and women. A majority of our elderly have osteoporosis because they did nothing to strengthen their bones when they were younger. The large number of incidences of fractures and injuries in the elderly are because of osteoporosis,” says Dr T Sringari, Sr Consultant Orthopaedics.

According to Dr Arvind Mehra, Sr Consultant Orthopaedics, whos is actively involved in community outreach programs “Osteoporosis is a progressive thinning of the bones that happens as we age. The loss of bone mineral that starts during the early thirties needs to be taken care of throughout our lives. The loss has to be compensated by sufficient intake of minerals like calcium, vitamin D, and potassium. At the same time, exercising is very crucial to maintain bone health.”

This year the theme the World Osteoporosis Day internationally is to highlight the vulnerability of men to bone loss as well, and to bust the myth that only women are susceptible to the brittle bone syndrome.

Doctors say bone loss is a progressive phenomenon that takes place over several decades of life and it can also be compensated by taking some key measures throughout the life to ensure that your bones are in good health even at 70. Exercise is one of the key boost to bone health.

Dr Ravi Sauhta, Sr Consultant Orthopaedics, also states that in coherence ti the World Osteoporosis Day theme we ned to create awareness about the fact that this just not a diseases that affects the women. Infact 1 in 5 men are also affected by the same. This leads to many disabilities and also creates an impact on the family resources.”

“Bone is a tissue that keeps growing and developing with time. It responds very effectively to exercising. When we exercise and put pressure on our bones regularly, the bones respond by becoming stronger. Exercise also helps strengthen our muscles and ligaments that provide effective support to our joints. We need to make exercise a national culture. ” says Dr Ravi Sahuta, Sr Consultant Orthopaedics.

Osteoporosis is also responsible for a number of cases of vertebral compression fractures in the spine in the old age. If effective measures are taken throughout the life to keep bones in good health and prevent bone mineral loss, old age can become easier for many.

The participants were given out certificates of participation after the Cyclothon, while the winners were awarded certificates of merit.

At the end of the cycling event, the Hospital invited the participants and others to get their bone health checked at a special bone check camp. The camp offered facilities for Orthopedic Consultation, BMI tests, Random Blood Sugar tests, BP Monitoring, Weight Check and Bone Densitometry checks.

Dr Indrajit Agrawal, Dr Vivek Logani, Dr Deepak Thakur, Dr Arvind Mehra, Dr T Sringari and Dr Ravi Sauhta attended the people at the camp and offered them valuable advice to keep their bones and joints healthy throughout life. Information material was also distributed to the people.