Make No Broken Bones About It!

On Saturday, March 26, the CSLN once again partnered with the London & Thames Valley Chapter of Osteoporosis Canada to help out with their Make No Broken Bones About It! public education forum. The event took place at Brescia University College and was attended by both men and women of all ages from London and the surrounding area. CSLN service-learners were active throughout the session to welcome guests, hand-out information packages, direct participants to the presentation rooms, and assist with various other tasks throughout the day.

Osteoporosis Canada is a national organization that seeks to raise awareness about osteoporosis prevention and provide support for individuals experiencing the effects of the disease. Costing over $1.9 billion in annual health care costs, osteoporosis is a disease that reduces bone mass causing bones to become porous and fragile. It is estimated that over 2 million Canadians have osteoporosis including 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men over the age of 50. Osteoporosis can strike at any age, however by monitoring one's diet and remaining physically active throughout the life course, it is possible to prevent significant bone deterioration well into old age.

CSLN service-learners had the opportunity to attend both the keynote sessions at the Make No Broken Bones About It! event. The first presentation, "Healthy Living for Healthy Bones" was by Noelle Martin, a registered dietician, who explained the effects of osteoporosis and how to obtain enough vitamins and minerals through food consumption to reduce these effects. Public health nurse, Amy Mak, facilitated the second presentation, "Stepping Out Safely" which informed participants about how to prevent falls.

In between presentations, the CSLN service-learners discussed how their presence at the Osteoporosis public education event was significant both to the organization they were helping, the participants and to each of us individually. A few of us come from Science and Health Studies backgrounds and we found it interesting to be able to relate our studies to the information presented by the keynotes. All of us felt grateful to be able to attend the session because of the valuable information we can now pass on to our own family members and friends. There was also that wonderful feeling of making a meaningful connection with a local London organization which can be summarized in the following thank-you we received from Osteoporosis Canada: "We love having the smiles, the enthusiasm and co-operation your group gives to us."

-Chloé Restivo