Bone, joint and muscle health is of importance in men of all ages but traditionally the focus is usually directed at women.
The goals of Men’s Health Month are:

1. To create awareness of preventable musculo-skeletal health issues
2. Early detection
3. Effective treatment

Men definitely score over females as they have good bone density and protection from osteoporosis.

Young men:

Fractures resulting from high velocity trauma are seen in younger men. Sports injuries like ACL tears and shoulder injuries, arthritis like Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis, Acute Disc Prolapse are commonly seen in young men.

Middle aged men:

Degenerative conditions like spondylosis of cervical and lumbar spine, Gout and soft tissue conditions like Achilles tendon tears and Bursitis are more often seen.

Elderly men:

Degenerative arthritis of knee, hip and CMC joint of hand, back pain and sciatica, osteoporotic fractures of spine, wrist and neck of femur, metastatic (pathologic) fractures are seen due to multiple myeloma or metastasis from lung, liver and prostate, etc.

Tips to keep the bone and muscles healthy:

1. Maintain optimal Body Mass Index (BMI) (20-25)
2. Maintain good BMD (Bone Mineral Density)
   Good BMD in elderly men will ensure protection from fragility fractures
3. Nutrition and Diet
   Sunlight, diet rich in calcium, Vitamin D and proteins and calcium & Vitamin D supplements will help in getting the required raw material for building strong bones. Protein rich diet is also helpful in muscle building and in catabolic phase of illnesses
4. Exercises
   The importance of daily, age appropriate exercises can’t be overemphasised. Weekly combination of strength training, aerobic conditioning and flexibility exercises is required. Exercises also build up muscles and give the joints the stability to prevent falls
5. Lifestyle Changes
   Alcohol and smoking should be avoided as they affect calcium absorption and lead to Osteoporosis
6. Early Detection
   Doing preventive health checkups helps to catch the problem early. BMD testing, hormones like thyroid and testosterone also have impact on the bones and can be frequently checked