Amid concerns about the bone health of children, WA health professionals are being urged to take part in a briefing next week about a new tool to help in skeletal paediatric care.
The Skeletal Central digital health app will be explained at a forum in Shenton Park next Thursday, October 10, and health professionals can attend in person or online.
Experts agree more needs to be done to help people reach peak bone structure to prevent fractures, and the factors that improve skeletal health have also been shown to benefit other body systems.
Professor Richard Prince is a Senior Honorary Research Fellow at UWA’s Medical School, Adjunct Professor Curtin’s School of Public Health and Adjunct Professor at ECU’s Faculty of Health Sciences. He helped create Skeletal Central to improve patient outcomes.
“There is this surprising figure from our epidemiological colleagues that fractures of long bones are actually more frequent in childhood, prior to the age of 18, than they are in women aged 65 and over,” he said.
“Yet despite evidence that up to 50% of children sustain fractures, there are no educational programs in WA directed to improving health knowledge and action in this area — the whole public health drive is in older people.”
To address this gap, Arthritis and Osteoporosis WA, ECU and partners developed the Bone and Joint Health Project, a $300,000 initiative to create interactive, curriculum-aligned resources that can be integrated into clinical practice.
The Skeletal Central app is a key part, offering evidence-based tools for health professionals and educators to help optimise peak bone mass for future health.
Professor Prince said a study which investigated the physiological of twins concluded that genetics determined 60% to 80% of bone structure, leaving 20% to 40% to be influenced by environmental factors.
“And in this case, environment means nutrition and exercise. That extra so-called icing on the cake is thought to be important because it’s now clear that your height tracks along the same lines as bone growth, with those factors impacting your ability to achieve peak height and bone mass,” he said.
“If you’ve achieved your optimal bone mass, as you track down with aging, you’re less likely to end up in the lower range of bone density and thereby less likely to fracture. Beyond that, however, the second issue is the material quality of the bone, its internal structure.
“For example, I’m working with one of my paediatrics colleagues on a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta. Now, while most of these individuals have low bone density, some don’t, but their internal structure is such that they can still fracture with lower force.”
Professor Prince said at least five studies looking at exercise intensity showed that basic movements — even just jumping up and down three times a day — improved bone strength.
“And not only does it improve bone strength, but it also enhances muscle and tendon strength,” he said.
“We are hoping that patients and individual practitioners will use the app and its contents as a prevention approach. Potentially finding a group of younger people who are also interested in looking after their skeleton.”
The information/CPD session to familiarise local clinicians with the app’s features and benefits for patients will be held on Thursday October 10 from 6.30-8.30pm at Arthritis & Osteoporosis WA, 17 Lemnos Street in Shenton Park.