April 16, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Point. Click. Tone your bones. UAB’s (University of Alabama at Birmingham) new interactive Tone Your Bones Web site puts comprehensive information on osteoporosis only a mouse click away. A service of the UAB Osteoporosis Treatment and Prevention Clinic, the Tone Your Bones site walks visitors through a virtual osteoporosis clinic visit.
“The website is tailored to give those with osteoporosis accurate information in an easily understood format,” says Beth Kitchin, MS, RD, assistant professor of nutrition sciences at UAB. “We know of no other web resource that makes this sort of comprehensive, useable information so easy to find and so fun to access.”
The site, at www.uab.edu/shp/toneyourbones, walks visitors through six steps, the same kind of steps a patient might take during an actual clinic visit. The steps include a self- evaluation, information on bone density testing, nutrition, and tips to building a personal treatment plan.
One unique feature of the site is detailed information on the importance of posture and good balance, including suggestions and photos on how to do everyday tasks like brushing your teeth, doing the laundry or getting out of bed in a way most likely to protect you from disabling fractures. Other sections detail the value of strength training exercise and weight-bearing exercise, and offer tips on how to begin an exercise program.
A calcium calculator lets visitors record how many servings of calcium rich foods they consume and automatically tallies the overall calcium intake. A guide to supplements and a glossary of vitamins and minerals also provide valuable information.
“One of the site’s most valuable functions is to let a visitor know precisely what she should expect from physicians in the treatment of osteoporosis,” says Kitchin. “You’ll know what questions to ask your doctor, know what to anticipate and know how to get the best possible care.”
Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to be fragile and break more easily. Affecting more than 25 million men and women in America, osteoporosis touches all ages and can cause fractures that lead to pain, breathing problems and slumped posture. An estimated 50 percent of women over the age of 50 have osteoporosis or osteopenia and are at risk for fracture.
The UAB Osteoporosis Treatment and Prevention Clinic is part of UAB’s world-renowned health system. The clinic provides complete clinical care and therapeutic services as well as education and information programs. Specialists in osteoporosis, nutrition, and physical therapy work together to help patients increase their bone density and prevent fractures through medication, healthy eating, and exercise.