Triathlon for Osteoporosis: First of It's Kind in the Country!
Registration for the 2010 Westplains Wonderwoman (WWW) Triathlon, 'Tri for Your Bones' is full at 800 racers with many Osteoporosis teams! You can also participate in the 'Steps for Strong Bones' program through the NOF.
Not only is our WWW Triathlon for Osteoporosis the first of it's kind in the country, BUT there is now a race the day before, Aug 14th, 2010 in Medical Lake! Strides for Strong Bones, is a 3 mile walk or run also for Osteoporosis awareness!! All proceeds, with the help of Marla Emde and our non-profit Washington Osteoporosis Coalition-Spokane, will go toward local community osteoporosis screening & education events.
The THIRD annual Sprint Triathlon for Osteoporosis Awareness, the Westplains Wunderwoman Triathlon, in North Eastern Washington near Spokane, took place August 16th, 2009. 700 women, some in teams, swam 1\4 mile in Medical Lake, bicycled 10 miles, walked or ran 3 miles around the lake. Many of the women have osteoporosis or low bone density themselves, this year in fact over 20 Osteoporosis Teams registered with names like the 'Vitamin D Vikings', 'Forteo Falcons', 'Bone Beauties', 'Fosamax Foxes', and 'Osteo-Blasters'!
Hundreds of Free heel bone density screening tests were done using 5 ultrasound scanners, and of the almost 4000 spectators many learned their own risk, or lack of, for osteoporosis and fracture! How much calcium, vitamin D and exercise is recommended to make and keep strong bones was discussed with all those interested. (The heel test is for anyone over 30 years old, who had never had a test before! It is also offered in the community at the Osteoporosis Resource & Screening Centers at Deaconess and Valley Hospitals, for more information call 509-473-2194 for the Deaconess, and 509-473-5415 for the Valley) Click to see Photos from 2008 and 2009 WWW Triathlons
A panel of women most with osteoporosis or fractures answered one-on-one questions about their own diagnosis and treatment, such as how celiac disease can decrease calcium absorption, why many years of Depo-provera or anti-seizure medication can cause low bone mass, how severe vitamin D deficient due to past gastric bypass surgery causes aching and muscle weakness not just bone loss, and why men with past prostate cancer treatment or women taking aromatase inhibitors for past breast cancer are at high risk for osteoporosis as well!
Dr Lynn Kohlmeier, director of the Spokane Osteoporosis Center and the WWW Triathlon Osteoporosis Education, gave a short question and answer session before the triathlon award ceremony. She talked about healthy lifestyle choices and medication options for fracture prevention as well as how exercise, specifically walking and running along with back extensor strengthening, helps build bones all through life.
Anyone interested in organizing a walk or triathlon for osteoporosis in their community, please contact the National Osteoporosis Foundation, and consider starting with the 'Steps for Your Bones' Program, currently on-line through the NOF. The NOF donated hundreds of brochures and information on osteoporosis, calcium and exercise for the triathlon participants. For more information, to www.NOF.org
URGENT ACTION NEEDED - Senator DXA Bill to be introduced and marks an important step in our battle to protect patient access to osteoporosis testing.This legislation will be the Senate companion to H.R. 4206, the "Medicare Fracture Prevention and Osteoporosis Testing Act of 2009."
