Have you ever damaged a bone? Some breaks can be quite painful, but others may hurt less than a serious sprain. I’ve experienced both, and let me tell you I never want to go through that again. The event has focused my attention on avoiding injuries of any sort. It hurts worse than labor.

Unless you’ve gone into biology, medicine or anything of that nature, you may need a refresher on bones and bone care. Knowing what function the bones have and how to care for them is important, especially if you are in danger of osteoporosis.

1) Long Bones: The humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia and fibula are long bones, meaning that they are longer than they are wide. That translates to the upper and lower arm and the upper and lower leg. The radius and ulna are side by side in the forearm and the tibia and fibula are one in front of the other in the lower leg.

2) Short Bones: The bones in your wrists, hand, fingers, ankles, feet and toes are all short bones. They all have names, but there are a large number of them, so I will skip naming them.

3) Skull/head: At birth, the bones of the skull have not yet closed together. There are soft spots, called fontanels, which don’t totally grow together until the baby is around four months old. There are many bones in the face, both to aid speaking and chewing as well as protect your eyes and nose.

4) Vertebrae: These bones have more than one purpose. Not only do the allow us to bend, they protect the spinal cord. These are divided into three sections. The cervical spine is in the neck area, the thoracic runs the length of the chest, or thoracic part of your torso and the lumbar is the lower back.

5) Pelvis and Patella: This translates to your hip bones and your knee cap. The pelvis is one area that helps anthropologists differentiate between male and female skeletons. They can also find evidence to point out whether or not the female has had children.

So, what can go wrong with these bones? As we grow older, we run the risk of many different problems. As an example, children’s bones are not as likely to break. Instead, the bend, in what’s known as a green stick fracture. If an adult, whose bones now lack that elasticity had the same injury, the adult would probably have a broken bone.

1) Cracked Bones: A fracture can mean both a crack and a totally broken bone, depending on who you are speaking with, so I am using this term. A crack can occur when the trauma wasn’t strong enough to break the whole bone and also when a bone is under a lot of stress.

2) Broken Bones: There are several different ways you can break a bone. If you’re lucky, the bones stay in place and don’t need set. The bones can also move around under the skin or move around and poke out of the skin. You can guess that these latter are extremely painful.

3) Osteoporosis: Bones can become thin, especially as we age. This can lead to broken bones after even the most minor injury. Aside from age, lack of exercise, obesity, inadequate calcium intake and some illnesses can cause this condition.

Now that you have this knowledge, what can you do to avoid the problems? There are many things, though most of them are practical, common sense items. Adequate exercise, weight loss if needed and make sure to get enough calcium are things you can do on a daily basis. It’s also wise to use caution when doing things that could pose injuries. I could have avoided shattering my knee by simply looking where I was going.

It’s also a good idea to have your blood calcium levels checked. You may need more than just a glass of milk or an over the counter supplement. There are stronger, prescription medications that may be needed in some cases.

If you feel you are at risk for any of these or other problems with your bones, it is a good idea to make an appointment with your doctor. Trust your instincts, as they are usually right. Make sure to give a complete medical history as well as any medications/supplements you currently use. This will help the doctor find the right treatment methods for you.